Chief James McIntyre
47 Central Street
Stoneham, MA 02180-2044
For Immediate Release
Friday, Feb. 13, 2015
Contact: John Guilfoil
Phone: 781-533-9398
Email: john@jgpr.net
Investigation Leads to Arrest in Stoneham Gas Station Attempted Robbery
STONEHAM — Police Chief James McIntyre reports that the Stoneham Police Department, after a thorough investigation, arrested a man this week for a robbery that took place in January.
As a result of the investigation, STEPHEN E. CELONA, AGE 19, OF LOWELL was arrested and charged with attempted armed robbery while masked and assault with a dangerous weapon.
On Saturday, Jan. 17, officers from the Stoneham Police Department were dispatched to 96 Montvale Ave. for a reported attempted robbery at the Montvale Mobil Gas Station.
The clerk reported that a masked man entered the store brandishing a knife and attempted to rob her. The clerk said she fought back at the suspect out of fear and as a result the suspect did not obtain any cash or merchandise. The suspect fled the area and was described as being a white male wearing a gray hooded sweatshirt, black hat and a dark colored scarf covering his face.
Unfortunately for the suspect, the store clerk was able to pull the scarf from the suspect’s face during their struggle, exposing it to the store’s video cameras.
Investigators viewed the video surveillance from the robbery attempt and were able to secure it as evidence as well as distribute a still photo to area police departments and other Stoneham Police Officers.
The following day, a property management company provided further video footage, showing the suspect fleeing in a vehicle, which Stoneham Police Detective Christopher Dalis determined to be a Honda Civic.
The following day, Detective Dalis was contacted by Officer Brendan Carr who stated that while responding to the robbery he observed a Honda Civic on Maple Street fitting the description from the video footage. Officer Carr made note of the vehicle’s license plate.
A Registry of Motor Vehicles check on the plate led police to CELONA. After a full investigation, that included working with Lowell Police Detectives, Detectives Dalis and Stephen Carroll went to CELONA’S father’s home in Lowell on Feb. 12.
After questioning CELONA, the detectives placed him under arrest.
“This is a classic example of a police officer making important observations on the way to a crime and good detective work leading to a closed case,” Chief McIntyre said. “Detective Dalis thoroughly reviewed all of the evidence at hand and put an investigation together, working our partner agencies, resulting in the arrest of the suspect.”
CELONA was booked at the Stoneham Police Department and transported to Woburn District Court for arraignment.
These are allegations. All suspects are considered innocent until proven guilty.
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