SKOWHEGAN — A Skowhegan man was arrested Tuesday afternoon on charges of attempted robbery and attempted theft after he allegedly tried on Monday to enter Stony Brook Market on U.S. Route 2, also called Canaan Road, armed with a toy gun, hooded and wearing a mask.
Police said he intended to rob the store to buy drugs.
Joshua Jason Johnson, 28, was booked just after 4 p.m. Tuesday at the Somerset County Jail in East Madison on charges of criminal attempted robbery and criminal attempted theft.
He was being held late Tuesday in lieu of $5,000 cash bail.
Skowhegan police Chief Donald Bolduc said police received a report of the attempted robbery on Monday. He said the store clerk reported a man wearing a mask and a hooded sweatshirt approaching the store about 8 p.m. The clerk, aware that the man was concealing his face, “locked the door out of fear she was about to be robbed,” Bolduc said.
Detective Kaitlyn Treylino, Officer Tim Williams and Sgt. Don Avery responded to the call. A witness was able to provide police with a name of the man, according to Bolduc. The would-be robber didn’t have a chance to display the toy gun because the store was locked, police said.
Detective Sgt. Joshua King conducted interviews and, after speaking with the witness, was able to identify the suspect as Johnson.
While gathering evidence, police learned that a man had flagged down a state trooper in Solon, telling the trooper that the man who had tried to rob the store was at his home in that town.
King spoke to Johnson, who confessed to trying to rob the store, and he was taken into custody in Solon.
“It was learned that the male had a toy gun he had planned to use to rob the store to acquire money for drugs,” Bolduc said in an email.
The charge of criminal attempted robbery is a class C felony, punishable by up to five years in prison and up to $5,000 in fines. Criminal attempted theft is a misdemeanor.
The Skowhegan Police Department received assistance in the investigation from the Maine State Police and Somerset County Sheriff’s Office, according to Bolduc.
Doug Harlow — 612-2367
Twitter:@Doug_Harlow
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