Trish Bennett, Editor
CIRCLEVILLE – A string of business robberies in the city grew by two this week after the Duke & Duchess Shoppe and United Dairy Farmers were targeted by unknown suspects.
Richard M. Allen and Malaine Lambiase were arraigned Wednesday in Pickaway County Common Pleas Court in three of the incidents, but police are still seeking information on at least eight more since October.
The most recent robbery occurred about 11:19 p.m. Wednesday at UDF, 520 E. Main St., when a white male wearing a white and black hoodie entered the store and went to a middle aisle to pick up merchandise.
According to Circleville Police, the man then approached the counter as if to pay for the item but instead demanded the clerk give him the money from the cash register.
The clerk handed the cash drawer to the suspect, and he took a small amount of cash from the drawer. No injuries were reported, and no weapons were shown during the robbery.
The Duke & Duchess Shoppe was hit earlier this week when a male entered the store at 235 E. Main St. about 5:30 a.m. Monday demanding all the money in the cash drawer. The suspect then left the store and has not yet been located.
Allen and Lambiase are charged in incidents March 21 at Speedway North, March 10 at Gourmet Corner and Feb. 23 at Subway North.
Currently, the list of unsolved business robberies include:
April 12: United Dairy Farmers, 520 E. Main St.
April 10: Duke & Duchess Shoppe, 235 E. Main St.
Feb. 19: Duke & Duchess Shoppe, 235 E. Main St.
Jan. 15: Kwik Stop Sunoco, 320 W. Main St.
Jan. 8: Little Bear Market, 131 Harrison Rd.
Dec. 29, 2016: Hardee’s, 300 W. Main St.
Dec. 12, 2016: Speedway North, 1190 N. Court St.
Oct. 2, 2016: Speedway North, 1190 N. Court St.
Circleville Police urge anyone with information on these crimes to call 740-474-8888.
This article originally appeared on The Pickaway News Journal
