South Franklin man arrested in restaurant robbery, faces charges in two other cases
A South Franklin Township man arrested Thursday by North Franklin Township police for last week’s robbery of a West Chestnut Street restaurant also will be charged by Washington police in connection with two holdups at gasoline stations, including one Thursday morning.
Ryan Daniel Moss Sebolt, 23, of 105 Treehaven Ave., was arraigned before District Judge Larry Hopkins on charges of robbery and theft for the May 12 robbery of Bob Evans, 1380 W. Chestnut St. City police expect to file robbery charges against him next week for Sunday’s robbery at Kwik Fill, 705 E. Maiden St., and Thursday morning’s holdup at the BP station at Henderson and Jefferson avenues.
North Franklin police Chief Ron Fox heard the report of the BP robbery come in, and when the description of the suspect and getaway vehicle was broadcast, he recognized it as closely matching that of the restaurant robber.
“We already had (Sebolt) on our radar,” Fox said Thursday afternoon.
After confirming the descriptions matched, Fox started heading toward Sebolt’s home in South Franklin in a trailer court across from Washington County Airport. Fox passed Sebolt, who was driving a black Chevrolet Impala, and called Sgt. Dean Urbanic for backup. The two officers stopped Sebolt on West Chestnut Street just before noon and took him into custody. A passenger was questioned and released.
North Franklin police got a description of the Bob Evans robber and the getaway vehicle and had surveillance video of the robber and car from nearby businesses. As part of the investigation, police were able to get a license plate number for the car, which they said is registered to Sebolt and his girlfriend. Police also obtained a photograph of Sebolt through a site where police share information. The photo was checked against the surveillance shots, and police felt it was a probable match.
City police also questioned Sebolt about the two robberies there. Sebolt is accused of telling the clerk at Kwik Fill he had a gun and needed cash because “I have kids to feed.” Cash also was stolen from the BP when it was robbed about 11:24 a.m. Thursday, said city police Chief Robert Wilson. The robber showed what was later determined to be a pellet gun, the chief added.
Wilson said Officer Jordan Faust will file the charges in the Kwik Fill robbery, while Officer Kent Mitchell is handling the BP robbery. Sebolt will be arraigned later in those cases.
Sebolt was placed in Washington County jail on $25,000 bond. He faces a June 1 preliminary hearing before District Judge Robert Redlinger on the North Franklin case.