The suspect was ordered to return to court on Oct. 9 for a hearing.
NORTHAMPTON - A 26-year-old Amherst man, arrested Thursday morning after he allegedly robbed two convenience stores at gunpoint, was ordered held in lieu of $10,000 cash bail during his arraignment later that day in District Court.
The suspect, Marcus Roberson, of 60 Market Hill Road, Amherst, denied the charges against him. He was ordered to return to court for a bindover hearing on Oct. 9.
Roberson, in an apparently unrelated matter, declined a charge of operating with a suspended license (subsequent offense) on Wednesday in Eastern Hampshire District Court in Belchertown. He was ordered held in lieu of $100 cash bail, Mary Carey, a spokeswoman for the Northwestern District Attorney’s office, said.
The first armed robbery was reported shortly after 2:15 a.m. at the 60 King St. 7-Eleven, Capt. Scott A. Savino said.
Roberson allegedly wore a mask and was armed with a knife when he unsuccessfully tried to get into the cash register. Roberson then allegedly assaulted a customer with the knife in an another unsuccessful attempt to get cash, Savino said.
About 15 minutes later a robbery was reported at the 53 Main St. Cumberland Farms in the Florence section of the city. The suspect in that robbery, also described as masked and armed with a knife, made off with cash, Savino said.
A state trooper and a police officer with the U.S. Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Leeds saw Roberson acting suspiciously a short time later in the area of the roundabout.
Savino said Roberson ran up a hill toward a house near the roundabout, where the trooper and officer detained him. The suspect’s vehicle was parked nearby. Officers observed a black mask matching the description given from both armed robberies, and a quantity of cash in plain view inside the vehicle, Savino said.
For his alleged role in the 7-Eleven armed robbery, Roberson was charged with two counts of assault with a dangerous weapon (a knife) and two counts of attempting to commit a crime (armed robbery while masked), Savino said.
He was charged with armed robbery while masked for the Cumberland Farms armed robbery, Savino said.
As a matter of policy, the Northampton Police Department does not release booking photos.