Police Arrest Suspect After String Of 4 Armed Robberies
By: Erika Stanish
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) - A masked man connected to four armed robberies in Allegheny County has been arrested.
He is accused of shooting two people and stealing bags of cash and cigarettes.
With the help from multiple agencies, police were able to take Eric Jones into custody this morning. Police collected enough evidence from each robbery scene, including shell casings and video surveillance that connected Jones to the robberies.
The first robbery took place at a Fox's Pizza Den on March 6 in Oakmont. Police said Jones walked in wearing a ski mask, demanded the workers give him all the money in the register and the safe.
The workers told him there was no safe and that's when Jones pulled out a handful and shot the victim four times in the chest, arm, leg, and hand.
Four days later, Jones went to a Sunoco in Penn Hills where he made off with a bag of cash and around 100 packs of cigarettes.
Then, on March 15, police said they connected Jones to two different robberies that took place within 15 minutes of each other.
He first went to a Family Dollar, where he threatened to shoot an employee before he drove to the Edgewood Avenue Express where he was caught on camera walking in and pointing a gun at the cashier. Then he fired a shot at the victim and ran away.
"He said give me the money or I'll shoot you. I said look, police are always here, this is the wrong place to be," Emmanuel Ugobueze, the owner said.
Jones is now behind bars at the Allegheny County Jail and facing multiple charges, including aggravated assault, attempted homicide, theft, and firearm violations.