WESTFIELD – A juvenile who allegedly robbed a Main Street convenience store at gunpoint late Sunday night was arrested only hours later in Springfield after he and two companions reportedly attempted a similar crime in that city.
Police report that the clerk of the Cumberland Farms store at 69 Main St., had called at 11:17 p.m. to report a robbery and told the dispatcher that a male party dressed in black with his face covered pointed a handgun at him and grabbed an undetermined amount of money before fleeing the store.
Officer Sean Smith arrived at the store four minutes after the robbery was reported and learned that the suspect had fled toward the nearby railroad right-of-way.
A supervisory officer reported that the suspect had worn the hood of his sweatshirt tied tightly around his head and had menaced the clerk with a silver colored handgun during the robbery.
The initial focus of the search moved to Taylor Avenue, where there is an easy access point to the right-of-way, although officers also looked for the suspect on Clinton Avenue, St. Dennis Street and at Broad Street addresses which abut the rail line before detectives were called out to assist with the investigation.
Det. Sgt. Steven K. Dickinson said later that the clerk said that the suspect had mumbled something when he initially approached the counter and, when the clerk asked him to repeat what he said, the suspect said “give me all your money.”
The clerk said that he handed the cash drawer, later determined to contain $226, to the suspect who took the money and ran.
The clerk told Dickinson that he followed the suspect out the door and saw him scale a fence to access the railroad right-of-way and head south.
Dickinson said that a K-9 team had tracked the suspect on the right-of-way for a distance but he was not found.
The search moved briefly to an area north of Main Street, in the vicinity of Lewis Street, after a caller reported seeing a person who fit the suspect’s description walking from Meadow Street to Lewis Street but that search did not pan out.
Dickinson later found that his job had apparently been done for him by Springfield police, he said, when he got a call from Springfield police who suspected that a trio they had arrested may have robbed another store.
Springfield police Sgt. John Delaney said yesterday morning that an attempt had been made to rob a Boston Road gas station and convenience store where two suspects had entered the store, which includes a glass enclosure for the clerk, wearing hoods drawn tightly around their head to conceal their features.
Delaney said that one of the men pointed a silver colored handgun at the clerk demanding money but, when the clerk said that he didn’t have any, they fled.
A Springfield officer, Det. Angel Perez, who happened to be passing the store saw the two men concealing their faces as they left the store and saw the blue Mazda they left in.
The detective lost sight of the car, but a short time later, at 2:24 a.m., a caller reported a car fire at the bottom of a small hill on near the intersection of Seymour Avenue at Gerald Street.
The vehicle was found to be the blue Mazda the suspects had been seen in and was found to have been stolen from a West Springfield resident.
Delaney said that he did not know if the car crashed before burning but said “it looks like they burned it.”
A male party, David A. Cruz, 21, of 822 Main St., West Springfield, found near the burning car initially said that he had been kidnapped and robbed but Delaney said that he was later found to be one of the suspects.
A second suspect was found when he was seen getting into a taxi which was stopped by police and Hector Lauriano, 28, of 132 Walnut St., Agawam, was detained.
A K-9 team, Officer Scott Stelzer and ‘Blek’ responded to the scene and the third suspect, a juvenile, was found hiding under a deck.
Blek subsequently sought and found hooded sweatshirts in the area which matched those reportedly worn by the robbers and, under the same deck where the juvenile had been found, a black and silver colored .38 caliber revolver.
All three suspects, Delaney reports, were arrested for armed robbery, possession of a firearm without a license, possession of ammunition without a firearms ID card and breaking and entering a building in the nighttime with intent to commit a felony.
The juvenile suspect was not identified.
The revolver, Dickinson found later, had been registered to a city resident.
He said that, when asked by phone, the owner said that he had traded the gun away at a gun show some time ago.
He told Dickinson that he was out of town but promised to speak with him and provide the paperwork he has for the gun upon his return to the city.
Dickinson said that when the Springfield officers booked the suspects they were found to be in possession of cash which he said “was balled up in a way they found odd” and the investigators called area departments until they found a similar crime had been reported in Westfield.
He said that, with the arrest of the suspects in Springfield, his challenge became to confirm that the juvenile suspect was the person who entered and robbed the store in Westfield but that task became manageable when the juvenile suspect gave a statement admitting to that crime.
Dickinson said that he expects that physical evidence from the Cumberland Farms store, including fingerprints left on the cash drawer, will clinch his case.
He also said that the robber there was polite, quoting him as saying to the clerk “I didn’t mean to hurt you. Times are tough.” as he took the money from the cash drawer.
