Oakland man arrested by police in Waterville Irving gas station robbery

The Irving Circle K gas station at 445 Kennedy Memorial Drive on Monday in Waterville. Detective Sgt. Lincoln Ryder says the patrol division responded to a report of a robbery at the gas station at 1:44 a.m. Monday. Rich Abrahamson/Morning Sentinel

WATERVILLE — An Oakland man was arrested late Monday in connection with a robbery that occurred earlier in the day at the Circle K Irving gas station on Kennedy Memorial Drive.

Justin Murphy

Justin Murphy, 35, was charged with Class A robbery and Class B theft and was taken to Kennebec County jail in Augusta, where bail was set at $10,000, Detective Sgt. Lincoln Ryder said Tuesday. Murphy is scheduled to appear in Kennebec Superior Court on March 13, he said.

The robbery occurred at 1:44 a.m. Monday at the gas station and convenience store, located at 445 Kennedy Memorial Drive, next to McDonald’s restaurant and near the Interstate 95 exits. Ryder said Murphy did not display a firearm during the robbery but told a clerk he had one in his pocket. He also allegedly stole consumables from the store such as cigarettes, food and soda, he said.

Patrol Officer Paul Heath investigated the robbery and identified Murphy through interviews with the store clerk and by viewing store video of the incident, according to Ryder.

Murphy was not immediately located, but on Monday night patrol officers Riley Dowe and Jake Whitley located him at a residence on Clinton Avenue in Winslow and arrested him at 11:36 p.m., Ryder said.

“They did an excellent job,” Ryder said of the officers, adding that the department is fortunate to have officers who work quickly to solve such crimes.

Asked if there might be a connection between Monday’s robbery and a spate of recent robberies in the Waterville area, Ryder said there was “no indication that he would be associated with those other crimes at this point.”

The Irving station and store are open 24 hours a day. The robbery there was the fourth robbery in the area in the last month or so.

On Nov. 26, the Goodwill store on The Concourse downtown was robbed and then on Dec. 6, the Camden National Bank branch at 150 Main St. downtown was robbed. It is within sight of the Goodwill. On Dec. 19, less than two weeks later, the Camden National Bank branch at 51 Main St. in downtown Oakland was robbed. No one has been arrested in those robberies.