2 charged in several W. Toledo robberies

Common thread was note demanding money

3/1/2014

His demand was written on a slip of blue paper.

“Do not make a sound. Give me the money out of the register.”

The man in blue-lens sunglasses slid the note across the counter toward the man working at a Dairy Queen on Monroe Street on Thursday afternoon and stood waiting for the cash.

Eight times since Monday, employees at West Toledo businesses were face-to-face with robbers.

But Friday afternoon, Toledo police picked up two men in a car parked near the latest robbery scene and, after questioning, the pair confessed to six of them, according to the police department.

Dustin Werner, 25, and Anthony Fesh, 32, are charged with multiple counts of robbery in these cases:

● Family Video, 5886 Dorr St., Monday.

● Tan Pro, 2104 W. Laskey Rd., Wednesday.

● Tan Pro, 3324 Secor Rd., Wednesday.

● The UPS Store, 3550 Executive Pkwy., Wednesday.

● Dairy Queen, 5300 Monroe, Thursday.

● Apricato frozen dessert shop, 4137 Talmadge Rd., Friday.

Police spotted the pair in a vehicle in the parking lot of the Kroger supermarket at Secor and Monroe about 3:45 p.m. Friday after the Apricato robbery, and they were taken in for questioning.

The common thread to the six robberies, Sgt. William Wauford said in a prepared statement, was the written note one or the other of the men passed to a store clerk.

Police previously said the robbers’ physical descriptions and clothing were similar as well — particularly their choice of sunglasses.

Some of the bad guys were armed — at least one with a gun, another with a large knife — while in other instances the bandits only behaved as if they had weapons.

The latter was the case when Apricato, across Talmadge from Franklin Park Mall, was held up about 2 p.m. Friday.

A store clerk said the robber acted as if he had a gun in the pocket of his gray hooded sweatshirt.

He threatened the clerk, fled with cash, and — like the robbers who hit three businesses Wednesday and a video store Monday — wore shades.

Like many of this week’s robberies, Friday’s occurred in broad daylight in a busy area.

At least 35 businesses have been robbed in Toledo since the first of the year.

Data for previous years’ robberies was not available.

Police Sgt. Joe Heffernan said robberies in the city this year likely are fueled by heroin addicts looking to score quick cash for their next hit.

A separate suspect was arrested Thursday in connection with the robbery Monday of In & Out Mart, 5830 Douglas Rd.

Brandon Goss, 27, of Sylvania Township is charged with aggravated robbery and remained in the Lucas County jail Friday night in lieu of $100,000 bond.

He also is charged with the robbery of a Monroe County financial institution.

But police haven’t indicated whether they think a man who allegedly carjacked a woman Thursday outside J&D’s Side Trip, 1534 W. Sylvania Ave., also was involved in a knifepoint robbery Tuesday of that bar.

Ronald Neipp, 52, faces multiple charges related to the carjacking and remained in the county jail Friday night in lieu of $200,000 bond.

J&D’s and the In & Out Mart both also had been robbed Jan. 21, and police said earlier this week they believed the same robber was involved in both holdups at J&D’s.

Contact Taylor Dungjen at tdungjen@theblade.com, or 419-724-6054, or on Twitter @taylordungjen.