43
Two men accused of Trumbull County robberies as part of sprees
By Ed Runyan
WARREN
A Navarre man convicted in August of three Akron robberies that occurred in May is accused of starting his robbery spree in Warren.
John K. Beason Jr., 38, was indicted Friday in Trumbull County Common Pleas Court in a May 10 armed robbery in Warren. Records at the Warren Police Department did not indicate what robbery Beason is accused of committing, but there was a May 10 armed robbery at the North End Market, 1645 North Park Ave., and Beason was a suspect.
A clerk said a white male he recognized pulled out a black object that looked like a gun and demanded money. He got $300 and left. Beason is white.
The clerk said the man had been in the store two times earlier that day and said, “Mike, I hate doing this to you, give me the ... money.”
A warrant in Warren Municipal Court was issued for Beason’s arrest May 15, one day after he committed the first of the three Akron store robberies.
He pleaded guilty in Summit County Common Pleas Court Aug. 14 to robbing stores May 14, 15 and 17 in Akron and received an eight-year prison sentence.
Beason also pleaded guilty Sept. 1 in Trumbull County Common Pleas Court to heroin possession dating back to Jan. 15 and was sentenced to 11 months in prison to be served at the same time as the eight-year sentence.
He could get more than 10 more years in prison if convicted of the May 10 Warren robbery.
Meanwhile, Jorge Avila, 30, of Perkinswood Boulevard Southeast, was indicted Friday on an aggravated robbery charge stemming from a robbery of a Niles restaurant in July.
He was also indicted Sept. 2 on an aggravated robbery charge connected to a July robbery in Brookfield. He remains in the Trumbull County jail in lieu of $50,000 bond in that case.
No details on either the Niles or Brookfield robberies were available Friday from the Niles or Brookfield police departments.
But the Vindicator’s broadcast partner, 21 WFMJ-TV, has reported that the Brookfield robbery took place July 16 at the Brookfield Dollar General and that Avila is also charged with the July 14 robbery of the Frozen D-Lite store in Parkman, Geauga County.
He has a pending aggravated robbery charge from July 14 pending in Geauga County, according to Geauga County court records.