SCRANTON -- A man from Lackawanna County already charged with robbery now faces even more robbery charges in another county.
Tuesday, Gerald Fuller from Scranton was charged with five robberies in the city. Wednesday morning, police charged Fuller with five more robberies in Luzerne County, including one at a mini mart damaged by the September flooding.
Fuller, 39, of Scranton is now charged with the robberies in Luzerne County, all since March.
According to police, just like in Scranton, Fuller targeted mini marts.
Here is the list of stores Fuller allegedly robbed:
- the Penn Mart in West Pittston on March 1, 2012,
- the Uni-Mart in Exeter on May 4, 2012,
- the 315 Donut Shoppe in Jenkins Township on May 15,
- the Uni-Mart in Duryea on June 1, 2012,
- the Subway in Plains Township on June 8, 2012.
The Penn Mart in West Pittston was devastated by last year's floods and the security system had not been reinstalled.
Last September nearly seven feet of water inundated this part of West Pittston during the flood, and just about destroyed the Pen Mart.
The store was just getting back up and running when it was robbed.
"These people are sick. They try to pray on people who got hit by a devastating flood," said Matt Reilly of West Pittston.
Reilly lives just a few blocks away from the Pen Mart in the flood zone.
"They`ll have what`s coming to him, it`s unfair. These people lost everything. They`ll have what`s coming to him. He got caught? Good. He`ll get what he deserves," added Reilly.
Employees at the Pen Mart say Fuller wasn`t your typical robber. They said he was polite and almost sympathetic and before he left he told the clerk he was sorry.
"I don`t like it. A lot of people have been robbed and houses and businesses around here. It`s kind of low," said Michael Bosco of West Pittston.
“This one was especially despicable,” said Chief Paul Porfirio of the West Pittston police. “We had a community devastated by a flood, one establishment getting back on its feet, seven feet of water, getting back on the road, selling gas, taking care of people, fixing up their homes, and this guy came in and did this.”
Fuller is in jail on $100,000 bail.