Police say a 17-year-old donned a mask, dressed in dark clothing and wielded a machete when he robbed a combination gas station and convenience store on West Center Street early Sunday morning.
Jeremias A. Sarante, of 440 Broadway, Raynham, “is a strong suspect in other robberies in the area,” West Bridgewater police detective Sgt. Tim Nixon said in paperwork filed at Brockton District Court.
West Bridgewater Police Chief Donald Clark said the suspect is linked to similar store robberies in Bridgewater and Raynham.
According to West Bridgewater police, the suspect approached a woman outside the Shell gas station about 2 a.m. Sunday and threatened her with a machete. The suspect then entered the store, “banged the knife on the counter and demanded money” from the clerk, according to Nixon’s report.
The suspect cleaned out the store’s cash drawer and fled with about $167 toward a car parked across the street, the report said.
Police radioed a description of the vehicle to police in neighboring towns. Brockton police found a matching car and pulled it over at a Cumberland Farms on Route 123 on the city’s West Side.
Police found a black, hooded sweatshirt, a black baseball cap, a red bag and black jeans, all of which were consistent with the clothes the woman said her attacker wore.
Sarante was charged with assault and battery with a dangerous weapon and armed robbery while masked.