AUBURN — Two men charged with multiple counts of robbery in the Twin Cities in April denied the charges in court Friday.
Joseph Morris, 24, of 16 Prescott St., Lewiston, and Scott A. Demmons, 32, of 15 Willow St., Auburn, pleaded not guilty to five counts of robbery in Androscoggin County Superior Court. The charges are Class B felonies, punishable by up to 10 years in prison.
Bail was set for Demmons at $35,000 cash and, for Morris, $30,000 cash.
Conditions for release for both men include no use or possession of alcohol or illegal drugs and being subject to random searches.
Police said one of the two demanded money from a clerk at Heathco’s Pizza on Court Street in Auburn then fled the store without any money when a customer entered the store.
Less than 15 minutes later, Domino’s Pizza on School Street reported a robbery. Police said the suspect’s description was the same and the suspect who got away with a small amount of cash.
A day later, a man fitting the description of the suspect in the pizza shop incidents attempted to rob a City Cab driver in front of 15 Shawmut St. in Lewiston. The cab driver was able to drive away before the suspect got any money, police said.
Sam’s Italian Sandwich Shop on Center Street in Auburn also reported a robbery, and the suspect description was the same as the previous three incidents. A small amount of cash was also taken by the suspect, police said.
A fourth store, Elizabeth Ann’s on Sabattus Street in Lewiston, reported a robbery that appeared to have been committed by the same person as the previous three robberies in Auburn, police said. The suspect fled the store before getting any money.
A search of the area and interviews of witnesses led police to suspects who ran into the apartment building at 158 Pine St.
In all of the incidents, police said the suspect threatened the use of a weapon but did not display one. No one was injured.
A judge ordered that the two men, if bailed, not enter any of the shops they are accused of robbing and not to approach any City Cab.
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