It took a just a short time for police to realize they had something bigger than an isolated convenience store robbery on their hands “Rather than this being a random act or a one time act this was something that was going to continue and would continue top present a real threat to our community if we didn't take some action on it,” said Gates Police Chief David DiCaro. Police has connected eight armed robberies since January 2nd. The targets were convenience stores. The robbers hit four in Gates, two in Brighton, one in Greece, and another in Henrietta. “We became aware that there were some connections to this case very early on but there was also a sense of urgency to this because of the fact that a firearm was used and in one case the firearm was actually discharged in a convenience store,” said Brighton Police Chief Thomas Voelkl. Police believed it would be just a matter of time before the armed robbers hurt someone. They staked out several convenience stores around the county waiting for a break in the case. They got it when a Gates police spotted 26-year old Joseph Poupart and 18-year old Ryan Assini attempted to rob a 7-11 on Elmgrove Road. Both men were arrested. Police say it was the cooperation between the several agencies that help put the men behind bars. “It’s not the exception its the rule we work together frequently on all types of cases,” said Chief Voelkl. Greece Police Chief Merritt Rohn agreed. “We've got thousand of dollars in invested in man hours staking out these stores for the past ten twelve days and we knew eventually we'd catch 'em,” said Chief Rohn. Assini and Poupart are being held in the Monroe County jail facing multiple robbery charges.
