North Stafford, Va. –– The man charged in connection to a robbery at a North Stafford gas station was looking to rob again, and is connected to a New York City street gang, authorities said.
Roberto Roque, 24, was arrested Oct. 12 in connection to the robbery at the Sunoco station on Va. 610 on Sept. 25, Stafford sheriff’s spokesman Bill Kennedy said Tuesday.
After the robbery, investigators set up a surveillance operation on Roque and followed him on the night of his arrest to the WaWa gas station at Salisbury Drive and Va. 610.
They stopped him, searched his car and found a firearm, mask, clothing and other accessories that authorities say tie him to the Sunoco robbery.
If sheriff’s deputies had not stopped him, investigators suspect he would have robbed the WaWa gas station, said Kennedy.
Investigators said the items found in his car may also link him to robberies in Fredericksburg, and in Prince William and Spotsylvania counties.
Kennedy said the suspect is a member of the nationally known New York City street gang, “The Bloods,” and is believed to have been in the Stafford area since May.
Roque was jailed in Stafford County without bond, and is scheduled to appear in court Dec. 21.
During the Sunoco robbery, investigators said Roque walked into the gas station at 10:40 p.m. wearing a mask. He then walked up to the clerk, pointed a gun and demanded that he empty the contents of the cash register into a backpack Roque had placed on the counter, said Kennedy.
The clerk complied, and the suspect calmly walked out of the store. No one was injured.
Following the robbery, police swarmed the area looking for a suspect, using search dogs around the gas station and in a nearby residential neighborhood.
