Two Berks County residents are facing felony charges after police say a man robbed a Schuylkill County tobacco shop of nearly $3,000 at gunpoint while his girlfriend acted as his getaway driver.
Garicin Moore, 40, and Ashton Dinkel,36, both of Bernville, have both been charged in connection with the reported Dec. 15, holdup at Sam’s Place Lottery & Tobacco in the Hometown Commons Shopping Center, police say.
Dinkel has been charged with a first-degree felony count of robbery. She was arraigned last week before Magisterial District Judge Stephen Bayer and is being held at Schuylkill County Prison on $50,000 bail.
A warrant has been issued for Moore’s arrest. He is wanted on two first-degree felony counts of robbery, a third-degree felony count of robbery, a second-degree felony count of aggravated assault, third-degree felony counts of carrying an unlicensed firearm and theft, as well as misdemeanor counts of possessing a weapon and simple assault.
Police say Moore entered the store shortly before 8:55 p.m. wearing a red flannel jacket, a black ski mask, gray sweatpants, and black sneakers. The store clerk reported greeting the man, who initially mumbled before approaching the counter and demanding money.
When the clerk expressed disbelief, asking, “Are you kidding me?” the suspect became aggressive, police say. The clerk reported that he brandished a black pistol in his right hand and stated, “Give me the (bleeping) money out of the register and the safe,” before demanding a bag.
The clerk complied, giving the suspect $2,914 in a plastic bag before he fled south toward State Route 309, police say. Surveillance footage captured the suspect pacing around the shopping plaza and keeping his head down to avoid cameras prior to entering the business.
The investigation advanced in January after Moore was arrested for a separate armed robbery at a Wyomissing convenience store. During that investigation, authorities seized a black Ruger SR22 semi-automatic pistol and impounded a 2017 black Cadillac ATS that Moore was operating, police say.
A witness later told investigators that Dinkel confessed to her involvement during a Dec. 20 trip to Renninger’s Farmer’s Market, which State Police say in their affidavit is commonly referred to as the “Dirt Mall” in Schuylkill County. The witness reported that Dinkel said she needed to get something off her chest, admitting Moore was committing robberies and she was his getaway driver for a smoke shop holdup, police say.
Dinkel told the witness she dropped Moore off, waited down the road, and that when she picked him up after the robbery, he was throwing up and hyperventilating, police say. When the witness asked, “So you’re implicating yourself? What did he do, rob this place?” Dinkel replied, “Well, yeah,” the witness reportedly recalled for police.
Police say they also learned the tobacco shop’s manager had briefly gone on a date with Moore and knew him and Dinkel from having a stand at the Dirt Mall. The manager reported Moore visited the store unannounced twice in early December, once asking her to cash a check she suspected was fraudulent.
Five days after the robbery, the manager texted Moore about the incident. Moore replied, “That’s (bleepin) nutty wait u got robbed,” police say.
To verify the allegations, police say they used automated license plate readers and vehicle forensics. By executing a search warrant for the Cadillac’s onboard AT&T Wi-Fi hotspot, investigators extracted cellular timing data.
The records showed the vehicle stationary at Moore and Dinkel’s shared Bernville residence for most of the day before mapping a route that placed the car at the crime scene at 8:44 p.m., police say. License plate readers in Tilden Township corroborated the travel pattern between Schuylkill and Berks counties, capturing the Cadillac heading north before the robbery and south afterward.
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