Police charge man, 23, with 2 store robberies

The suspect had $55, the same amount taken in the robbery, police said.
By PATRICIA MEADE
VINDICATOR CRIME REPORTER
YOUNGSTOWN -- A Circle K convenience store clerk summed up for police two armed robberies within four days: "Same voice, same clothes, same gun."
Joseph W. Perez, 23, of Manchester Avenue has been charged with both crimes. He was arraigned Wednesday in municipal court on two counts of aggravated robbery. Judge Robert A. Douglas Jr. set bond at $200,000 and a preliminary hearing for April 19.
Detective Sgt. Brad Blackburn said the handgun used in the robberies is a BB gun. It was turned over to the crime lab for fingerprinting.
The convenience store, at 1821 Mahoning Ave., was first robbed at 1 a.m. Saturday. The clerk told police that a gunman wearing a blue hoodie and stocking over his head entered and demanded money.
The clerk turned over $50 to $100.
The robber, described as "short and lean," then fled south on Belle Vista Avenue.
Same clerk robbed
At 2 a.m. Wednesday, the same clerk at Circle K, standing at the same register, was robbed again at gunpoint. She told police it was the same person. He had a stocking over his face and wore a blue hoodie, she said.
The clerk turned over $55. Both robberies were recorded by the store's surveillance camera.
Patrolman Brian Voitus, who was in the area, was flagged down by a man who alerted the officer to the robbery and said the robber ran south on Belle Vista. Voitus called for backup and then saw a silver Cadillac, without its headlights on, pull out of Briel's Flowers driveway. The business is behind Circle K.
When Voitus pulled the Cadillac over, the driver, later identified as Perez, opened the door and the officer saw crumpled dollar bills between his feet. Voitus said in his report that Perez was wearing a blue hoodie.
A black nylon stocking was found near the money in the car and a BB gun and marijuana pipe were found in the flower shop parking lot where Perez had parked his Cadillac, police said.
Matched robber
Police took Perez back to the Circle K. The clerk said his clothing and physical build matched the robber's.
Police also viewed the store's video of the event and said Perez's clothing and build matched what they saw on the video.
The cash in the car totaled $21, and $34 more was found in Perez's shoes by a booking deputy at the Mahoning County jail. Police noted that $55 was the amount taken in the store robbery.
Perez already has two cases pending at Mahoning County Common Pleas Court -- trafficking in drugs from August 2005 and domestic violence from February.
meade@vindy.com