Suspect charged over 3 robberies
A SUSPECT has been charged over two alleged armed robberies and a mugging that happened in the space of two hours in Runcorn.
Jamies William Bates, 27, of no fixed abode, was arrested just after midnight on Friday, June 1.
His arrest followed an investigation into armed robberies at Co-op food store on Balfour Street at 2.40pm on Tuesday and at 4.25pm at Co-op in Windmill Hill.
In each instance, a knife-wielding man dressed in black with his face partially covered is reported to have entered the store, scared staff and fled with a till from each one.
Detectives appealing for information at the time said the weapon resembled a kitchen knife.
Police had linked the incidents to a bag ● snatch on Norton Hill, Windmill Hill, at 4.30pm just minutes later, in which a man grabbed a 27-year-old woman’s bag and emptied the contents on the ground, although no weapon was used in this incident.
No-one was injured during the incidents.
A Cheshire police spokeswoman said the alleged Section 18 assault happened inside an address on Lacey Street in Widnes at 11pm on Friday, May 12. Runcorn police tweeted on Friday to thank officers and the public for their assistance after the 27-year-old suspect’s arrest.
Bates appeared at North Cheshire Magistrates Court on Saturday, June 3, and was remanded in custody to appear at Chester Crown Court on July 3.
Police said he remains under investigation without charge in connection to a suspected section 18 GBH assault on Lacey Street in Widnes on Friday, May 12.