RALEIGH -- Police have charged one of three men thought to be involved in a string of armed robberies at convenience stores and restaurants since October.
Donovan Sylvester Chaplain, 22, of 3822 Brentwood Road in Raleigh was charged today with five felony counts of robbery with a dangerous weapon, six felony counts of conspiracy to commit armed robbery, five felony counts of possession of a firearm by a felon and one felony count of attempted armed robbery, according to arrest warrants filed Friday at the Wake County Magistrate's Office.
Police think Chaplain was one of three men who robbed at gunpoint more than a half dozen businesses in North, Southeast and West Raleigh between October and November. Cary police have not filed charges against Chaplain, but they have said they think the same men responsible for the Raleigh robberies robbed two convenience stores in their town.
Both crimes in Cary were committed by two armed men, whose descriptions are similar to the suspects sought in the Raleigh robberies. In some of the Raleigh robberies, the suspects were assisted by a third man.
Raleigh police said the suspects in their cases were "uniformly described as black men who stand about 6 feet tall and wear bulky jackets that make it difficult to accurately determine their body types." In addition to the jackets, the men used bandannas to cover their faces. Police did not release any other identifying traits such as hairstyle or tattoos.
Records filed today at the Wake Magistrate's Office indicated that Chaplain stands 6 feet tall and weighs 310 pounds.
Chaplain had just been released from prison after he was convicted in Wake County of conspiracy to commit larceny from a person. He was sentenced to five to six months in prison and is now on probation, according to court records.
In 2006, when Chaplain was 17, police charged him with armed robbery, according to the City County Bureau of Identification.
Police think the robberies that Chaplain was involved in began on Oct. 26 and ended Nov. 6, court records show.
Police have accused Chaplain and an unknown accomplice with using a handgun to rob Papa John's of $519 on Oct. 26. Five days later, on Oct. 31, police think Chaplain and an accomplice used a rifle to rob the Peace Street Market of $480, court records show.
Police say on Nov. 6, Chaplain and an accomplice robbed three businesses. Investigators have accused the duo of using a handgun to rob an Exxon station of $1. The pair are then thought to have used a handgun and a shotgun to rob a Domino's Pizza of $250 before showing up at a Circle K convenience store to rob the clerks there of $140, court records show.
Police transported Chaplain to the Wake County jail, where he remained late today under $1 million bail, court records show.
Police ask anyone with information about the robberies to call Raleigh Crime Stoppers at 834-4357 or Cary police at 469-4012, or Cary Crime Stoppers at 226-2746. Crime Stoppers pays cash rewards for anonymous tips that help solve cases.
McDonald: 919-829-4533
