Four people have been charged in connection with a pair of armed robberies at Lehigh Valley smoke shops last September, Northampton County District Attorney Stephen Baratta announced Friday.
According to Baratta, shortly after 1 a.m. Sept. 10, police were called to the Turkey Hill Convenience Store at 4250 Lehigh Drive in Lehigh Township for a report of an armed robbery. When police arrived, they determined the robbery had occurred next door, at the Cherryville Vape and Cigar Shop.
The cashier told police the store was robbed at gunpoint by several male suspects, all but one of whom was wearing a mask. They took approximately $300 from the cash register, stole $2,300 in vaping and THC products, damaged the business phone and took the cashier’s personal cell phone.
Two days later, around 3:30 a.m., Allentown police officers responded to a report of an armed robbery at Smoke Mania, at 2733 W. Emaus Ave. The cashier there told officers they were robbed at gunpoint by four men.
Surveillance from outside both stores showed the same vehicle leaving the scenes of the robberies. That vehicle was located shortly before 10 p.m. Sept. 12 by state police, who conducted a traffic stop.
Inside the car were Thiago Araujo-Guerrero, 22, Frankelly Isabel-Ramirez, 23, Branny De La Cruz-Rodriguez, 24, and Leonardo Henriquez-Diaz, 23, all of Hazleton. A search of the vehicle recovered two BB gun pistols that were consistent in appearance with the weapons used during the robberies.
Detectives also reviewed footage from the stores and identified the men as suspects. All four were charged with robbery, conspiracy to commit robbery, theft by unlawful taking and receiving stolen property.