Reynoldsburg police arrest possible armed robbery suspect
Reynoldsburg police arrested a Columbus man Wednesday night who is possibly connected to a string of robberies in that city as well as Pataskala and Columbus’ Far East Side.
According to Reynoldsburg police, 21year-old Cameron Hines, of the Far East Side, is charged with robbing at gunpoint the United Dairy Farmers store at 6686 E. Main St. around 10:30 p.m. Wednesday. A short time after the robbery, officers spotted a vehicle suspected of being involved in the armed robbery and attempted to stop it, police said.
The vehicle did not stop and a pursuit ensued that went into a residential area near East Broad Street and North Waggoner Road. The driver, later identified as Hines, got out of the vehicle and fled on foot into a wooded area.
Reynoldsburg police, with assistance from the Columbus police helicopter unit, were able to locate Hines and take him into custody without incident.
Police said Hines is charged with aggravated robbery with a deadly weapon on or about him and controlling or displaying a gun to indicate use of a weapon. He is currently being held in the Franklin County jail. Detectives from several law enforcement agencies are now investigating to determine whether Hines is also responsible for a string of at least nine other armed robberies.
The first armed robbery occurred Feb. 25 in Pataskala, but the last eight robberies have occurred since Monday, most along East Broad Street but some on Main Street in Reynoldsburg.
All of those robberies were committed by a male suspect described as dressing in all black with a black mask who pointed a handgun at employees while demanding cash. Hines resides on Cherry Laurel Court in the Village of Waggoner Park apartments complex off Overmont Ridge Road, which runs behind the Meijer store on East Broad Street in Columbus, court records show. His apartment is located within a half-mile of four of the robberies that occurred at businesses near the intersection of East Broad Street and Waggoner Road.
Here is an interactive map of the nine armed robberies police believe are related in Pataskala, Reynoldsburg and the Far East Side with locations and times of each pinned in purple. The robberies reported this week, in order:
h Monday, 7:30 p.m., Marathon, 14210 Broad St. SW, Pataskala
h Monday, 8 p.m., Speedway, 7881 East Main St,, Reynoldsburg
h Tuesday, 5:35 a.m., United Dairy Farmers, 7905 East Broad St., Reynoldsburg
h Tuesday, 5:36 a.m., Speedway, 7860 East Broad St., Columbus
h Tuesday, 6:24 a.m., BP, 110 West
Broad St., Pataskala
h Tuesday, 3:16 p.m., An armored car outside the Huntington Bank, 8220 East Broad St., Columbus
h Tuesday, 9:07 p.m., Walgreens, 7900 E. Broad Street, Columbus
h Wednesday, 4:30 a.m., Speedway, 6312 E. Main St., Reynoldsburg
Columbus police also are investigating a Tuesday morning robbery at the Meijer store at 8000 East Broad St. at North Waggoner Road. However, investigators do not think that robbery was among the series because it was committed by a taller man wearing a grey-hooded sweatshirt who implied that he had a gun when he approached the service desk, but didn’t display it.
Anyone with information on any of the robberies is asked to call Central Ohio Crime Stoppers at 614-461-TIPS.
Dispatch reporter John Futty contributed to this story. bbruner@dispatch.com @bethany_bruner