Washington man arrested in robbery attempts
A Washington man suspected of robbing two Washington businesses Friday morning before holding up a North Franklin Township convenience store – all in a span of less than 30 minutes – and making off with cash and cigarettes was arrested by city police on attempted robbery charges.
Mark Veshio, 54, of 1128 National Pike, Apt. 2, Washington, was arraigned late Friday before District Judge Curtis Thompson and placed in Washington County jail on $90,000 bond. North Franklin police Sgt. Dean Urbanic said he plans to charge Veshio with robbery and theft after he reportedly stole cash and Pall Mall cigarettes from Valero (Sunshine Food Mart), 1390 W. Chestnut St.
Veshio reportedly went to Kwik Fill, 705 E. Maiden St., Washington, about 7:30 a.m. Friday and demanded cash. When the clerk refused, Veshio reportedly fled and went to Walgreens, 99 Jefferson Ave. City police said he again demanded cash, but the clerk there also refused. Veshio again left empty-handed and apparently went at 7:53 a.m. to Valero, where he stole an undetermined amount of cash along with the cigarettes.
In all three cases, Veshio acted as though he had a weapon, but no gun was ever shown to any of the clerks, police said.
Veshio reportedly fled all three crime scenes in a silver sedan. A witness in the North Franklin robbery was able to provide police with a license plate number on the vehicle.
Veshio is scheduled for a Nov. 23 preliminary hearing before District Judge Robert Redlinger on the city charges.