Roxbury man arrested for allegedly robbing convenience store twice

RANDOLPH, Mass. — A Roxbury man has been charged with two counts of armed robbery stemming from a pair of incidents where, police say, he allegedly twice robbed a convenience store in Randolph at gunpoint.

Randolph Police arrested Mark Stokes, 51, of Roxbury in connection with the robberies.

The alleged incidents both occurred in the month of April at Seasons Market on Randolph's North Main Street.

On April 1, police responded to a reported robbery at the location at 9:44 p.m. At the scene, police learned that a man demanded money and cigarettes while pointing a gun at the store's clerk. That suspect was described as a male wearing black and white sneakers, along with a heavy two-toned jacket.

Nearly two weeks later, in the early morning of Friday April 12, police again responded to the store on North Main Street for a reported robbery at 2:20 a.m.

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According to officials, a suspect similar to the one described in the first incident, attempted to open the store's cash register while the clerk was outside. In attempting to access the register, the suspect allegedly turned off the gas pumps.

When the clerk returned to the store, the suspect allegedly pointed a gun at him, demanding he open the register. That suspect later fled with cash and Newport cigarettes, according to police.

Officials say they apprehended Stokes after lifting his fingerprint from the button that shut off the gas pumps.

Randolph Police located Stokes after the suspect became the victim of an alleged assault and battery in Boston less than two hours after the second robbery. Stokes' vehicle was shot several times during that incident, police say.

Upon searching Stokes' vehicle, police located a black pellet gun that was modified to allegedly look more realistic. Police then executed a search warrant at the suspect’s residence, locating clothing allegedly worn during the robberies.

Stokes is being held on $15,000 bail and is set to be arraigned next week in Quincy District Court.

Cox Media Group