Saturday, May 26, 2012
YOUNGSTOWN
Four men charged with aggravated robbery after allegedly robbing a West Side liquor store, beating a female employee in the process, may have been responsible for multiple robberies in the Youngstown area.
The four — Quashaun Tubbs, 18; Joshua Ben-Naim, 20; Isiah Mosley, 19; and Vanets Jones III, 27; all of Youngstown — have each been charged in the Thursday evening robbery of the Mahoning Wine Shoppe on Mahoning Avenue.
Each man appeared via video before Judge Robert Milich of Youngstown Municipal Court for arraignment Friday. Each was appointed an attorney and given a bond of $100,000 plus electronically monitored house arrest.
Ben-Naim and Tubbs may have a difficult time abiding by the house-arrest order. Both men told the judge they are homeless.
According to police, three of the men entered the store about 7:30 p.m. with their faces covered. One of the men pulled out a handgun and demanded clerks inside the store to hand over the money in the cash register.
Two of the men began taking money out of the register and stuffing it into a pillow case. One of the men demanded the clerk’s cellphone and when she refused to hand it over, she was beaten repeatedly in the head and face.
The robbery and assault lasted for several minutes until a customer walked into the store and yelled for the men to stop. They all ran out of the store to a waiting car with the fourth man driving. Police intercepted the car as they tried to escape via Interstate 680.
City prosecutors read off a list of past arrests for each man as they appeared before the judge. Past charges mentioned include receiving stolen property, theft, aggravated robbery, domestic violence, grand theft auto and felonious assault.
Ben-Naim was said to be participating in a diversion program and was just in municipal court this week on a drug-paraphernalia charge.
Police Chief Rod Foley said the list of charges against the men may grow.
He said police are looking into whether they are responsible for armed robberies at other businesses, including The Red and White store on Elm Street on the North Side, where the owner was beaten in April.
“We are seriously looking at these guys as serial robbers,” Foley said.
Foley said it is good to have the group off the streets because they are likely to have continued robbing people.
“We are happy these guys have been caught because this particular group seems to be particularly aggressive,” he added.