Summit man, accused of being Erie’s lollipop bandit, charged in more Dollar General heists

State and Erie law enforcement reported they suspected the similar man or woman was dependable for a string of keep robberies, including 4 that strike Greenback Basic destinations, in a approximately 4-week span in Erie County beginning in late March.

Authorities have now charged the same man with committing all of them.

Summit Township resident Christopher R. Zapolski, 33, by now in jail on expenses in a few of the heists, was arraigned Friday morning on charges of robbing Dollar Normal stores in Summit Township on March 22 and in Greene Township on March 26.

Summit Township District Judge Brian McGowan set Zapolski’s bonds at $100,000 on each and every of the two new conditions soon after arraigning him on costs together with felony robbery and terroristic threats in each individual scenario.

Zapolski was now in the Erie County Jail on $325,000 in bonds in the other three robberies he is accused of committing. He is billed in all those circumstances with robbing the Tops Pleasant Marketplaces at 1520 W. 26th St. in Erie on April 3, the Greenback Standard at 3875 Zimmerman Street in the city on April 7, and the Dollar Basic at 12674 Route 19 in Waterford Township on April 9.

In the Erie Greenback General robbery, investigators claimed the suspect acquired a lollipop prior to applying a gun to rob the cashier and fleeing with dollars and the lollipop.

In two of the Dollar Common robberies investigated by condition law enforcement, troopers explained the suspect bought cat food right before robbing the retailers.

The new circumstances

The Pennsylvania State Law enforcement, in legal issues submitted Wednesday and Thursday, accuse Zapolski of stealing a couple of hundred bucks from the Greenback Standard suppliers at 8214 Perry Freeway in Summit Township on March 22 and at 8948 Wattsburg Street in Greene Township on March 26.

In the Summit Township situation, troopers mentioned he told a feminine cashier that he had a gun in his pocket and demanded all of the dollars from her money drawer. The cashier informed investigators that soon after taking the dollars, the suspect claimed, “I am sorry for all of this,” troopers wrote in the felony complaint.

In the Greene Township case, troopers accuse Zapolski of pulling a gun on a female cashier immediately after paying for cat food items and telling her that he did not want to damage her, but preferred the dollars from the cash drawer. The cashier advised troopers the suspect apologized to her as he left the retail outlet with the stolen dollars, according to information in the complaint.

The apprehension

Erie and condition law enforcement investigators mentioned there were similarities in every of the five robberies that led them to suspect the identical particular person possible fully commited at minimum most of them. The similarities provided a white Audi that was suspected of staying made use of as the suspect’s getaway car, according to info in the felony problems.

On April 9, following the Waterford Township Dollar Standard robbery, troopers who have been responding to the retailer noticed a white Audi traveling north on Route 97 at higher speed. An attempt was built to cease it, but a trooper lost the Audi immediately after it turned onto Robison Highway, according to details in the legal grievance filed in opposition to Zapolski in the circumstance.

Chase prospects to suspect in retailer heists Erie law enforcement believe that a Summit Township man billed with robbing a Dollar Typical retail outlet in Waterford Township even though buying

A condition police corporal later on noticed the Audi along Route 97 and adopted it to a gasoline station. When the corporal and other troopers went into the station, they ended up advised that a person ran out a rear door, investigators described.

Condition police impounded the Audi and found clothes the suspect wore in the course of the Waterford Township theft in the trunk. Troopers later on apprehended Zapolski at a residence in Erie County, according to condition police.

Zapolski was charged on April 10 in the Waterford Township robbery. He waived the charges he faces to court docket at his preliminary listening to on Tuesday, according to on line court docket data.

Erie law enforcement billed Zapolski in their two robberies on April 11. He is scheduled to look in court docket for his preliminary hearings later this month.

Call Tim Hahn at [email protected]. Abide by him on Twitter @ETNhahn.

This write-up originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Robberies: Erie’s lollipop bandit billed in a lot more Dollar Typical heists