Man pleads guilty in 2 Verizon Wireless robberies

UPDATE @ 11:25 p.m. (Oct. 27)

A 29-year-old Germantown man admitted today to tying up Verizon Wireless clerks and using a toy gun to hold up two stores.

James D. Shell pleaded guilty to two counts each of robbery and kidnapping for the crimes, according to the Warren County Prosecutor’s Office.

Shell robbed a Verizon store on June 24 in Germantown and a second Verizon store on July 3 in Deerfield Twp. In both cases, he had an accomplice, police and prosecutors said. Also, in both cases the clerk was assaulted and tied up in a restroom in back of the store. The robbers took dozens of cellphones, cash and other electronic devices in the heists.

The second suspect, who has not been identified by police, remains at large.

Shell entered into a plea agreement to serve 15 years in prison and pay more than $20,000 in restitution to the stores, according to the prosecutor’s office.

EARLIER

An arrest has been made in a July 3 robbery at a Verizon Wireless in which the clerk was tied up.

The robbery occurred shortly after 4 p.m. July 3 at the Verizon Wireless store at 8465 Montgomery Road, according to the media release.

The two male suspects entered the store displaying a handgun and assaulted the clerk, tying him up with an extension cord in the back of the store. The suspects escaped with a large amount of cell phones and cash, according to the release.

The suspects were also wanted for a Verizon robbery in Germantown June 24.

Germantown police assisted Warren County sheriff’s deputies in identifying one suspect as James D. Shell, 29, of Germantown, according to the release.

Shell is now in Warren County Jail on a charge of aggravated robbery charge without bond until his arraignment in Mason Municipal Court, according to the release.

The other suspect is still at large.

Anyone with information about his identity or whereabouts are urged to contact the Warren County Sheriff’s Department.