Two arraigned in West Side robbery
Staff report
YOUNGSTOWN
Two people were arraigned in municipal court Tuesday for their suspected roles in a robbery at a Mahoning Avenue store.
Deadina Cordero, 21, and Ryan Brown, 19, both of South Lakeview Avenue, were arraigned on charges of aggravated robbery in the Feb. 9 robbery of the Mahoning Wine Shoppe, 1681 Mahoning Ave.
Brown faces an additional charge of being a felon in possession of a firearm.
Reports said the store was robbed about 10:50 p.m. Feb. 9, but the owner waited until the next day to report it. He showed police a video that showed a woman picking out several items in the store and then putting them down.
Reports said she spent a long time doing that and also was seen on the video using her phone as though she was sending someone a text message. She then took a couple of items to the counter and walked to the back of the store as two men walked in, one armed with a semiautomatic handgun and the other with an Uzi machine pistol, reports said.
The owner backed up to the cash register, told the men to calm down, and gave the robbers the register, which had between $400 and $500 inside. One of the men also took a roll of coins, then they both ran out of the store toward Evanston Avenue.
The woman could be seen on the video hiding behind a shelf during the robbery, then she ran out of the store as well after the two men left.
Only two people have been taken into custody so far.
Cordero is in the jail on $50,000 bond, while Brown’s bond was set at $100,000 by Judge Elizabeth Kobly. Assistant City Prosecutor Shelli Freeze told Judge Kolby that even though he is only 19, Brown already has logged three firearm-related offenses as an adult and juvenile.