Belleville man charged in string of six armed robberies
A 29-year-old Belleville man was charged with six counts of aggravated robbery with a firearm in connection with a string of robberies in the Belleville area, the Belleville Police Department announced Friday.
Benjamin Ducey was arrested Wednesday night after one of the six robberies occurred at the Subway at 605 Carlyle Ave. in Belleville, police said.
He also was charged in connection with five other robberies, dating back to Nov. 4:
▪ Nov. 30, Family Dollar, 6401 W. Main St., Belleville.
▪ Nov. 28, ZX convenience store, 7406 W. Main St., Belleville.
▪ Nov. 24, Farm Fresh, 1805 North Belt West, Belleville.
▪ Nov. 17, Belleville Food Mart, 1424 Centreville Ave. in St. Clair County near Belleville.
▪ Nov. 4, Dollar General, 1207 Centreville Ave. in St. Clair County near Belleville.
Police were called to the Subway at 605 Carlyle Ave. at 8:12 p.m. Wednesday on the report that a man displayed a gun to employees and demanded money from the cash register. Shortly after, officers located the man as he was getting into a vehicle with evidence both in his possession and in “plain view” inside the car.
Ducey’s bail was set at $500,000.
In separate set of armed robberies, Belleville Police said Thursday that detectives had arrested two juveniles suspected in a string of related crimes on the east end of town and in Swansea.
The suspects, who won’t be identified because of their age, were arrested in specific connection to the Nov. 30 robbery of Casey’s at 1706 Mascoutah Ave. and the ZX gas station at 420 Carlyle Ave. on Dec. 2 but they may also be tied to two similar crimes in Swansea on Monday night.
According to a release issued by the Belleville Police Department, the investigation into the armed robberies at a different ZX at 2400 N. Illinois St., and the Huck’s at 4590 N. Illinois St. is continuing.
This story was originally published December 6, 2019 at 6:42 PM.
