Reading man charged in pair of armed store robberies in 2020 in Berks
May 2—In late 2020, Muhlenberg Township investigated a pair of armed robberies of the Turkey Hill Minit Market at 2240 Hampden Boulevard, near the city line.
The robberies were so similar that police suspected they were done by the same group. There was a rash of store robberies at the time, most occurring in Reading, that police believed may be linked.
Three robbers would storm the store with firearms and gain control of the workers, investigators said. One of the robbers would remove cash from the register and cartons of cigarettes from a cabinet.
In one of the Hampden Boulevard robberies, the same suspect who took the cash and cigarettes also robbed a worker.
Despite collecting fingerprint evidence, no match was found when the latent prints were entered in the Automated Fingerprint Identification System, or AFIS, police said.
More than three years later, on Jan. 1, 2024, investigators got a break in the case when Cumru Township police arrested Eric A. Bonilla, 23, of Reading for driving without a license and carrying a firearm without license.
Because of the criminal charge, which according to court records was later withdrawn, Bonilla's fingerprints were entered into AFIS, police said.
Muhlenberg Detective Sgt. Ramon Caraballo received a notification from the Berks County Forensic Service Unit that the fingerprint evidence his department had entered into the system was a match for Bonilla.
Caraballo filed charges April 17 against Bonilla for both robberies, which occurred on Nov. 19, 2020, and Dec. 6, 2020.
On Wednesday, Muhlenberg police, assisted by officers from Upper Macungie Township Department in Lehigh County, arrested Bonilla at an unspecified location in Upper Macungie.
Bonilla of the first block of Arlington Street was committed to Berks County Prison in lieu of $500,000 bail to await a hearing.
He faces two counts each of robbery and conspiracy, possessing an instrument of crime, simple assault, receiving stolen property and related counts.
No other arrests have been made. Caraballo said the investigation continues into the two Hampden Boulevard robberies as well as other store robberies in late 2020. Details of those hold-ups were unavailable.
