Arrest made in store robbery

HATFIELD TWP. >> A Philadelphia man has been arrested to face a long list of charges related to a robbery in Hatfield last week.

Michael Christopher Piccola, 26, faces several charges including felony counts of robbery and aggravated assault following his arrest Monday.

According to Hatfield police, officers responded around 3:37 a.m. on June 21 to a reported robbery at a convenience store on the 1600 block of N. Broad Street. Investigation revealed that a white male suspect, wearing a light colored surgical type mask, a black hooded sweatshirt, blue shorts and Nike sneakers entered the store. The suspect grabbed the cashier, forced him to open the cash registers at knifepoint, and injured the cashier’s hand causing lacerations, police said.

The cashier was later treated and released from Abington Lansdale Hospital, police said. A post seeking information about the suspect was made by the department on June 22, and a June 28 update said Piccola had been arrested and charged.

Formal charges against him include single felony counts of robbery and aggravated assault, along with several misdemeanors including unlawful restraint, terroristic threats, possessing an instrument of crime, theft by unlawful taking, receiving stolen property, simple assault, and possession of drug paraphernalia.

Piccola was arraigned before District Judge Maureen Coggins of Red Hill, and remains in custody at the Montgomery County Correctional Facility on $75,000 cash bail. A preliminary hearing for Piccola is scheduled for July 6, also before Coggins, according to police and court records.