Suspects arrested in armed robbery spree
By Nathan Mayberg
NEWTON — State police have charged three people in connection with four armed robberies that took place in Sussex and Morris counties over a span of three days this week.
Hardwick Sires, 20, of Basking Ridge, faces four counts of armed robbery for allegedly holding up Plains Pharmacy in Franklin, QuickCheck in Hampton, Delta Gas Station in Wantage and Roserne Liquors in Kinnelon.
Sires was arrested on Thursday by Bernard Township Police and held at the Sussex County Keogh-Dwyer Correctional Facility in lieu of $800,000 bail from three jurisdictions pending a bail hearing in Sussex County Court on Friday.
Also arrested in connection with the robberies were Robert Colomban Jr., 19, of Far Hills and Cassandra Post, 18, of Liberty Corner. They each face charges of second-degree conspiracy. Their connection to the robberies was not immediately released to police. They were released on their own recognizance in Bernard Township, according to state police. Kinnelon police do not believe the two took part in the robbery of Roserne Liquors.
All of the robberies were committed by one person brandishing a gun.
The string of robberies began Monday when Roserne Liquors on Route 23 in Kinnelon was robbed at about 5 p.m. by a man wearing a scarf around his face, who brandished what appeared to be a a large silver revolver with a long barrel.
Police now say that the revolver was a replica, which Sires is facing a fourth-degree charge of possession of an imitation firearm for.
Sires also has been charged with third-degree criminal restraint, third-degree terroristic threats, third-degree theft and third-degree possession of stolen property.
Messages left on Friday and Monday with the Sussex County Prosecutor's Office were not returned.
The suspect in the robberies was described as a white male, 6 feet tall and weighing between 180 and 200 pounds. After taking off with cash, he fled behind the store on foot toward a nearby Bed, Bath and Beyond.
Video footage of the man in the store showed the man was wearing jeans, black shoes and a dark, hooded jacket.
Later that night at 10:42 p.m., an armed robbery was reported at Delta Gas Station in Wantage on Route 23 by a man wearing a scarf that partially covered his face who matched the same description. He fled the store on foot, Mueller said.
Police believe a vehicle was used in the commission of the crimes, Mueller said.
The Plains Pharmacy in Franklin on Route 23 was hit next on Tuesday night. The gunman in that case was described as a white male, approximately 5-foot-9, about 185 pounds, wearing a black winter coat with the hood up, a black mask or scarf over the nose and mouth, and black winter gloves.
He was accompanied by a white male in his mid 20s, approximately 6 feet tall, between 180 and 200 pounds, clean shaven with a regular haircut, wearing blue pants and a blue-and-black flannel shirt, according to Franklin police.
The investigation was far-reaching, spanning police departments from a number of jurisdictions as well as state police, the Sussex County Sheriff's Office and the Sussex County Prosecutor's Office.