by Phil Keren
Editor
Four Akron residents are facing charges in connection with an armed robbery reported at the Howe Avenue Chick-Fil-A on Feb. 4.
Cuyahoga Falls Police Capt. Tom Pozza said Akron residents Larry Darnell Dawson Jr., 18, and Jeffrey Desean Combs, 18, turned themselves in to police Feb. 11 and are charged with complicity, a second-degree felony, in connection with the case.
Pozza added that two 17-year-old Akron males were arrested Feb. 8 in Akron, and are charged with aggravated robbery. One of the 17-year-olds is also charged with carrying a concealed weapon. Their cases will be handled through the Summit County Juvenile Court, said Pozza.
Dawson and Combs both appeared in Cuyahoga Falls Municipal Court Feb. 11, and each were released on a $50,000 personal recognizance bond, according to a court official. Neither man entered a plea, and both are scheduled for a preliminary hearing before Judge Kim Hoover Feb. 21.
Pozza said one of the 17-year-olds was arrested Feb. 8 following a "short foot chase," during which he threw the handgun away. While searching the homes of both 17-year-olds, police recovered some of the money that was taken in the Feb. 4 incident, said Pozza.
Pozza said the handgun police believe was used in the robbery was recovered in a home's backyard in Akron following officers' pursuit of the 17-year-old who had the gun.
The 17-year-olds both had preliminary hearings before a Summit County Juvenile Court magistrate on Feb. 12, according to a court spokesperson. The 17-year-old who is charged only with aggravated robbery will have a pretrial on Feb. 21. Another court date has not been scheduled for the 17-year-old charged with aggravated robbery and carrying a concealed weapon. Both are being held at the Summit County Juvenile Detention Center.
According to Pozza, two men on Feb. 4 at about 10 p.m. robbed the Chick-Fil-A restaurant at 420 Howe Ave. "at gunpoint" and left in a car with "an unspecified amount of cash." No one was injured in the incident, said Pozza.
A Chick-Fil-A employee told police two unknown men entered the establishment just before closing Feb. 4. The worker said one of the men produced a small silver handgun and had the employee open the safe.
Pozza said the two 17-year-olds are accused of executing the robbery, while the two 18-year-olds are alleged to have served as lookouts in a getaway car.
E-mail: pkeren@recordpub.com
Phone: 330-686-3940