Man facing charges tied to armed robberies across three counties
A Saginaw County man is facing charges in Branch and two other counties after a multi-jurisdiction investigation.
Robert Geiger, 35, was arraigned Friday in Branch County District Court on charges related to an armed robbery of the Meijer gas station at 610 East Chicago St.
A man armed with a gun went inside and demanded money from two clerks and fled with two bank bags containing $200 each Aug. 17, 2022, according to police reports.
Police in Calhoun and Jackson counties matched the Coldwater suspect’s description with armed robberies in those counties the same day. One occurred at the Tekonsha BP station off I-69, the other off US-127 in Columbia Township in Jackson County.
Investigators in Columbia Township used a tool called Geofencing provided by Google.
Officers obtained a warrant to search online and electronic signals for the times of each robbery and the area around each location. The results showed Geiger was in the area around the time of the robberies, according to Branch County Court records.
Saginaw and Jackson County officers executed a search warrant at Geiger’s Burt, Michigan, address in September 2022.
Officers found the shirt seen on the masked suspect in the Coldwater robbery with sunglasses and shoes from the surveillance photos, according to the probable cause affidavit.
A black 40-caliber Baretta pistol, like the gun used in the robberies, was seized.
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Because of a 2013 theft conviction in Midland, Geiger is charged as a felon in possession of a weapon in each county, a separate two-year felony consecutive to any other sentence.
In each county, Geiger faces life felony charges of armed robbery and possession of a weapon by a convicted felon.
A pre-trial conference is set in November on the Jackson County charges after his arrest Feb.14.
Branch County District Judge Brent Weigle set Geiger’s bond at $50,000. He scheduled a probable cause hearing on Sept. 9 with a preliminary exam on Sept. 15.
Charges are pending in Calhoun County.
Contact Don Reid: dReid@Gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Coldwater Daily Reporter: Man facing charges tied to armed robberies across three counties
