LEWISTON – Police officers from Hancock, Waldo and Washington counties worked with the Lewiston and Lisbon police departments to nab a suspect in two armed robberies Saturday.
Jacob Lovejoy, 22, of Lisbon was arrested after a police stop in Hancock County on charges of operating under the influence and eluding police. Hancock County sheriff’s officers and state police troopers stopped him based on a description of a vehicle and suspect involved in armed robberies in Lewiston and Belfast.
The Lewiston robbery occurred just after 7 p.m. at the Big Apple on Lisbon Street. No one was hurt in the heist.
“We were told a male suspect approached the clerk, brandished a knife and demanded money,” said Lewiston’s Lt. Thomas Avery. “The clerk complied, and money was given to him.”
The Belfast robbery occurred around 9 p.m. at a Dead River convenience store.
The suspect in both robberies was described as a large man with a distinct tattoo on his neck, driving a white Chevrolet Lumina.
Police recovered a hunting knife and a large amount of cash in Lovejoy’s vehicle. Avery said Lewiston police are preparing robbery charges against Lovejoy and expects Belfast police are doing likewise.
Avery credited Lisbon Detective William Tapley with starting the sequence of events that led to Lovejoy’s arrest. Tapley noticed Lovejoy in town earlier Saturday evening driving a light-colored Chevrolet. When Lewiston police sent out a statewide bulletin describing the robbery suspect and his vehicle, Tapley thought it matched Lovejoy and provided additional identifying details.
Those details matched a description of a suspect Belfast police were looking for who robbed a convenience store. Hancock County officers spotted a vehicle and driver matching the description. According to police, when Lovejoy was stopped, he fled into the woods before being caught and arrested.
Two unidentified females and a male were in the car with him. Avery said their involvement, if any, in the incidents is being investigated.
Lovejoy was being held in the Washington County jail in Machias Sunday night pending an initial court appearance.
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