Editor
Two men allegedly robbed a Speedway at knifepoint on March 21.
Robert Steele, 29 of an unknown residence, and Benjamin Pendleton, 27 of Fayetteville, allegedly came into Speedway, located at 1143 state Route 131 in Miami Township, a little after 4 a.m. and forced the clerk to the floor while Pendleton held a large knife, Miami Township Assistant Police Chief Mike Mills said.
After forcing open the register and emptying it, the two fled. The clerk called the police and mentioned seeing a suspicious car in the parking lot an hour earlier. When the description of the car went out, an Ohio State Highway Patrol trooper recalled passing a car matching the description just minutes earlier, so he turned around to find the car, Mills said.
He found the car just as it was turning into a residence in Fayetteville and arrested Steele and Pendleton, along with Steele’s fiance, Stephanie Fletcher, 29 of Maineville.
Detectives interviewed the three and obtained a search warrant for the car. Inside the car they found the cash and the clothing Steele and Pendleton wore during the robbery, Mills said.
Fletcher was the driver for the robbery. The car involved is owned by Pendleton, said Detective John Chirgwin.
Pendleton was previously convicted of conspiracy to commit illegal manufacture of drugs, a third degree felony, in Clermont County and of two counts of aggravated robbery, a first degree felony, in Brown County.
Fletcher was previously convicted of attempted theft, a first degree misdemeanor, in Clermont County.
All three suspects are currently in the Clermont County Jail.
The same Speedway was also robbed on March 12, also at about 4 a.m. One man robbed the store at knifepoint. The Miami Township Police Department is investigating, said Sgt. Nick Colliver.