Clay (WSYR-TV) - Within two days, police say a man stole a car and a license plate in Syracuse, robbed a store in Mattydale...then a bank in Clay, and tried to rob a gas station in the Town of Lysander.
The first report came in for a stolen red Dodge Avenger in Syracuse on Friday, likely in the area of Canal Street.
Police were also alerted to a stolen Vermont license plate, believed to be taken from a different vehicle in the Carousel Mall parking lot.
Later that evening, investigators say a man walked into a Byrne Dairy in the Town of Salina with a baseball bat and demanded money. He got away with some cash and temporarily disappeared...until 10:20 a.m. Saturday morning.
Troopers say the suspect, Brandon Johnson, 31, arrived at the Bank of America on Route 31 in Clay, wearing a baseball cap, a red shirt, shorts and dark sunglasses. He was carrying a baseball bat and again demanded money.
Minutes later, workers at The Red Apple gas station in Lysander reported an attempted robbery. Detectives are still trying to figure out what happened before pressing charges related to this case.
Village of Baldwinsville Police spotted the vehicle and after a brief pursuit, Johnson pulled over along Route 370, just before police were about to deploy strips that would deflate his vehicle's tires.
Johnson was charged with two counts of 1st degree Robbery, two counts of 4th degree Criminal Possession of a Weapon, and one count of 3rd degree Criminal Possession of Stolen Property.
Johnson was arraigned in the Town of Salina Court and sent to the Onondaga County Jail in lieu of $100,000 bail or $200,000 bond.
State police handled the robbery investigations with help from Village of Baldwinsville police and the Onondaga County Sheriff's Office. Syracuse police investigated the stolen vehicle and license plate reports. No injuries were reported.
