Hazleton police investigate armed robbery, arrest two men

Mar. 20—A man selling sneakers in Hazleton on Wednesday was pistol whipped and robbed. Hazleton police say they arrested two city men for their involvement in the incident after fraudulent purchases were made on the alleged victim's credit card.

Jonathon D. Ramirez, 22, and Christopher L. Ramirez, 18, each face four counts of conspiracy at robbery, two counts of access device fraud and lone conspiracy counts of theft and receiving stolen property, all felonies. They were also charged with a misdemeanor for conspiracy at simple assault.

Bail was set at $150,000 each Thursday by Magisterial District Judge Alexandra Kokura Kravitz, Pittston. Unable to immediately post the money, they were taken to jail.

Police seek information on two other unidentified males involved in the incident. Call police at 570-459-4940.

According to police:

Officers were called to the area of South Poplar Street and Berner Avenue around 1 p.m. for an armed robbery that involved a victim who was hit in the face with a pistol. Police found the incident happened a block east at Berner Avenue and East Court.

The alleged assault took place after arrangements were made for the 22-year-old victim to sell sneakers to someone in the neighborhood. When the man arrived, two unidentified people got out of a black Honda Accord and approached under the guise of buying the footwear. Jonathon and Christopher Ramirez arrived shortly after in a separate vehicle and began walking nearby.

Moments later, the victim was hit in the face with a gun, a gun was pointed at him and his belongings were taken from his vehicle before the aggressors left the area.

The man who was assaulted contacted police around 3:30 p.m. to report fraudulent transactions on his credit card. Those purchases totaled more than $800 and happened at stores in the Laurel Mall. Police went to the mall to retrieve video surveillance and, while there, they saw the suspects returning to the mall with a third person.

Police took the trio into custody immediately after another fraudulent purchase was made, finding Jonathon Ramirez with victim's credit cards in his pockets. The Ramirez men were brought back to the police station. Police later retrieved a BB gun from Jonathon Ramirez' home at 1 El Camino Road and stolen items from Christopher Ramirez' home at 155 N. Laurel St.

State police at Hazleton and officers from West Hazleton, Sugarloaf Twp., Butler Twp. and Conyngham assisted.

Contact the writer: achristman@standardspeaker.com; 570-501-3584