Charges pile up against Speers robbery suspect
BELLE VERNON – A Speers man accused of escaping from Charleroi Regional police during his arrest as a robbery suspect is facing new charges he and another man also carried out an armed robbery last month at a pawn shop in Rostraver Township.
Rostraver police accused Christopher M. Carroll, 30, of Speers, and Dean A. Franks, 43, of Donora, of stealing $2,714 and diamonds valued at $5,000 during a June 24 armed robbery at Cash For Gold at 417 Don St., court records show.
Carroll also was charged by Rostraver police Tuesday with receiving stolen property and driving with a revoked or suspended license about 4:20 p.m. at a Walmart at 100 Sara Way. He was identified using store surveillance after police arrived there to investigate a complaint a woman wasn’t breathing after she was thrown out of a white Cadillac Escalade, the affidavit supporting the criminal charges indicates.
Rostraver police determined the Escalade was stolen in Washington County.
The injured woman, who was not identified in court documents, was treated at Mon Valley Hospital and later told police she was willing to prosecute Carroll in the assault.
Carroll, who was sent Tuesday to Washington County jail on $225,000 bond, was scheduled to be arraigned Friday in the Rostraver cases before District Judge Charles Christner.
Rostraver police said Wednesday they are preparing to charge Carroll in two or three other cases.
In the pawn shop case, Carroll was accused of pointing a BB gun at its owner while Franks allegedly walked around to the rear of the desk and pulled away a chair where the owner was seated.
Franks was accused of stealing the money and diamonds along with a bag of costume jewelry and the owner’s purse, which held a small amount of money and $500 worth of gift cards, the record shows.
Rostraver police then met with Charleroi Regional police and showed an officer there surveillance video that captured the pawn shop robbery. Charleroi Detective Chad Zelinsky identified Franks in the video as the person who pulled the chair from the store’s desk June 24, saying he was the same suspect in a North Charleroi robbery.
Franks was arrested three days later on charges he used a similar BB gun to rob Double M’s Pizza at 372 Pennsylvania Ave. in North Charleroi.
Franks was sent to Washington County jail in that case on $30,000 bond after police claimed they found him pretending to be sleeping in a bed at a personal care home across the street from the pizza shop.
Rostraver police arrested Carroll on a warrant in the North Charleroi case Friday at Fairway Inn on Route 981 in the township. Police said they found evidence in the motel room linked to the pawn shop robbery. Carroll later allegedly admitted to putting bandages on his face to conceal his identity at the pawn shop and the stolen money was spent on heroin, the affidavit states.
Carroll allegedly slipped away from Charleroi Regional police that day at his arraignment in Bentleyville.
He was apprehended Sunday after police chased him into woods near his residence at 109 Crest St. and also arraigned on charges he stole $30,000 and at least three guns from his father May 10. Meanwhile, police in Bentleyville were preparing to charge Carroll with escape and related charges stemming from him having allegedly ran off while police were switching handcuffs Friday at the office of District Judge Curtis Thompson.