Hamilton police investigate store armed robbery from the weekend

Police are investigating the armed robbery of a Hamilton drive thru Sunday night.

A suspect entered Minnick’s in the 2500 block of Pleasant Avenue about 9:40 p.m., pointed a gun and stole cash and a pack of cigarettes, according to the police report.

A K-9 unit attempted to track the suspect, but was unsuccessful.

Officer Kristy Collins said detectives could not provide a description of the suspect.

There have been other recent robberies in the area. A trio of suspects indicted for a series of store robberies in Hamilton and Hamilton County were arraigned last week and remain housed in the Butler County Jail.

Brady Dawson, 19; Joshua Hatfield, 18; and Malaki Bond, 19, all of Hamilton, were indicted by a Butler County grand jury for allegedly working together to rob six stores, including four in Hamilton, during October and January.

The trio is accused of robbing DAS Mart on Grand Boulevard in Hamilton on Oct. 30; the Circle K on Pleasant Avenue in Hamilton and Riverview Market on North B Street in Hamilton on Jan. 19; the BP on Montgomery Road in Sycamore Twp. and Sunoco on Salem Road in Anderson Twp. on Jan. 20; and the Shell Gas Station on Dixie Highway in Hamilton on Jan. 24.

Dawson is charged with six counts of aggravated robbery, all with a gun specifications. Hatfield is charged with five counts of aggravated robbery with gun specifications. Bond is charged with three counts of aggravated robbery with a gun specification, according indictment.

The men were arraigned by Judge Judge Keith Spaeth on March 9. Bond was set for Dawson at $300,000, bond for Hatfield is $150,000 and bond for Bond is $250,000. They are scheduled to be back in court June 3.

“This is a series of stick-ups with a gun that will carry serious consequences for these defendants,” said Butler County Prosecutor Michael Gmoser. “They are awfully young to be facing that much trouble. They were stealing cigarettes and drinks and stuff like that, how worth it was it?”

The Warren County Sheriff’s Office is also continuing to investigate a bank robbery Thursday in Deerfield Twp.

Deputies said the First Financial Bank branch at 8601 Landen Drive was robbed at 3:30 p.m. The suspect who entered the bank was identified as a man in his late 20s with a thin build last seen wearing black pants, a black hoodie with the hood over his head, white gym shoes, baseball cap and a light blue medical-style mask. The suspect entered the bank and provided the teller with a note demanding cash, deputies said.

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