Four Arrested for String of Spotsy Robberies

The Spotsylvania County Sheriff's Office says it has solved a string of 11 armed robberies in the Fredericksburg area after keen eyed police work and a little bit of luck paid off in an arrest of a suspect early this morning. Information gleaned from that suspect led to the discovery of a ring of three other suspects who police say planned and executed the robberies as a group. 

The string of robberies stretches back to Feb. 2, 2011, when a 7-11 at 428 Plank Road was robbed at 12:25 a.m. The robbers pulled off another 9 heists in Spotsylvania and one in Stafford. The two most recent robberies were both committed at the same Fas Mart on Salem Church Road on May 15 and May 30, both late at night. Police say the suspects targeted businesses around closing hours, with all of the robberies happening between 10 p.m. and 12:30 a.m. 

The break came shortly after midnight this morning, a Spotsylvania County Sheriff's Detective Tripp Haney was conducting surveillance on a 7-11 at Germanna Point. He was part of a task force organized by the Spotsylvania Sheriff's Office which for three weeks had been conducting surveillance on numerous restaurants and convenience stores in an attempt to uncover the suspects. 

The Spotsylvania County Sheriff's were relying on a little more than luck during their hunt. They also had employed the services of the department's crime analyst to gain insight into the operations of the sought after suspects. According to Lt. Col. Michael Timm, public information officer with the Spotsylvania County Sheriff's Office, the analyst had even predicted the weeknights and approximate times when the suspects were most likely to strike. Six of the eleven robberies occurred early in the weeks in the late night and early morning hours of Sundays and Mondays. 

Around 12:06 a.m., Haney saw Spotsylvania resident Charles Peterson, 20, pacing back and forth on a side street behind the 7-11. Peterson was wearing a hooded sweatshirt with the hood up, a detail which all of the reported robbers shared. Later, Haney saw Perterson emerge from between two dumpsters located towards the rear of the store before walking back to a vehicle located a block away before driving off. 

Police followed the car for a short distance before conducting a traffic stop. Peterson was arrested and police gathered clothing and items from his car which they say match video surveillance and reports of the previous robberies. 

In interviews with detectives, police say Peterson implicated three other accomplices who helped plan and carry out the crimes; Taylor Beckman Patton, Victor Jacobs and Jacob Green, all 18, all of Spotsylvania County. 

"All gave statements as to their level of participate in committing the spree of armed robberies," said Timm.

All four of the suspects were arrested and charged with conspiracy to commit armed robbery, armed robbery, the use of a firearm in the commission of a felony and wearing mask in public for the April 11 robbery of a 7-11 in the 11100 block of Gordon Rd.

All other offenses will be brought before a grand jury which will convene after the Sheriff's office finishes its investigation 

Petersen was additional charged with an attempted robbery of the Germanna Point 7-11 where he was observed by detectives.