A 20-year-old Portland man is being held at Cumberland County Jail on theft and robbery charges in connection with a series of crimes including the hold-up of the Exit 48 Mobil station in Westbrook on June 7.
David E. Cropley of Portland was arrested at approximately 8 a.m. on June 8 at Shaw’s Plaza by Portland police following an investigation by Portland police into a series of crimes that morning.
Det. John Desjardins of Westbrook said police believe Cropley held up the Mobil station the night of June 7 and then committed a series of crimes in the morning of June 8 in an effort to get money for drugs.
The robbery of the Exit 48 Mobil station occurred at around 10:30 p.m. on June 7. According to police, a white male in his 20s with brown hair and a neatly trimmed beard, wearing a brown and tan top with faded blue jeans and sneakers demanded money from the clerk and threatened her physically. The man did not show the clerk a weapon but got away with about $200 or $300, according to Desjardins.
The man was not apprehended that night despite a coordinated search between Westbrook and Portland police. The next morning, however, Portland police arrested Cropley, after a series of crimes that morning.
According to Desjardins, Portland police responded to a theft at Lowe’s, followed immediately by an assault call at the Econo Lodge and then an attempted motor vehicle theft at Denny’s. Portland police chased Cropley and arrested him right behind the Exit 48 Mobil station they believe he robbed the night before.
Desjardins said Westbrook police gathered enough evidence to charge Cropley with the Mobil station robbery. He was arraigned on June 9 in both district and superior courts. In district court, he was arraigned on a robbery charge and in superior court a theft charge, both in connection with the Mobil hold up, according to officers at the Cumberland County Jail. Bail has been set at $5,040 cash.
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