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Second man with Detroit connections indicted in Niles jewelry store robbery, kidnapping
By Ed Runyan
WARREN
A second man is indicted in the April 25 armed robbery of Direct Jewelry on state Route 46 in Niles, and he also lists his birthplace as Detroit.
Cedis R. Martin, 30, of 1087 Perkinswood Blvd. SE, was arrested Tuesday in Liberty on warrants charging him with three counts of aggravated robbery and three counts of kidnapping.
Martin was secretly indicted earlier Tuesday on those charges by a Trumbull County grand jury. He pleaded not guilty Wednesday in common pleas court. Judge W. Wyatt McKay set bond at $200,000.
They are the same charges in an indictment Tuesday of Zachary E. Bradford, 35, of the same Perkinswood address. If convicted, Martin and Bradford could each get about 60 years in prison.
Police say three people walked into the store about 12:30 p.m. wearing masks and holding semiautomatic firearms.
Police arrested Martin and Bradford later that day during a chase involving several police departments who fanned out across Warren and other jurisdictions, according to 911 radio transmissions obtained by The Vindicator.
A witness to the robbery provided police with a license plate for a rented maroon minivan the three used to leave the scene, and police converged on the 1087 Perkinswood address. Multiple people fled on foot.
Weathersfield police officer David Blosser and his dog, Dani, assisted with the search. Dani sniffed out Martin under a porch, and Martin was taken into custody.
Capt. Chris Hodge of the Weathersfield Police Department held Martin at gunpoint until another officer could secure Martin in handcuffs.
Martin and Bradford listed their birthplaces as Detroit when they were booked into the county jail.
Police found items stolen from the store inside the Perkinswood address.
In 2012, the arrest of several young men with ties to Detroit preceded an early Sunday homicide in the rear yard of an apartment house on Elm Road in which Marco Dukes, 32, of Warren was killed and his cousin, Larry A. Smith, 29, was injured.
The incident created great concern in the city because it occurred near several popular restaurants and a prominent church that was having a service.
Two men from Detroit, Dale Hatch, 26, and Derrick Peete, 23, later were convicted of murder in the shootout and sentenced to lengthy prison terms.
Sgt. Joe Kistler of the Warren Police Department said detectives had not been aware of any reason to be concerned about Martin’s or Bradford’s actions while living in Warren.
A police report on file for the Perkinswood address said a woman, 25, called police Sept. 10, saying Martin had punched her in the face, thrown her down the stairs and kicked her in the head. She said she ran out of the house when Martin said he was going to get his gun. The woman did not seek medical attention.
There is no record of Martin being charged in connection with the September police call.