Chicken Shack Tip Leads to Arrests in Downtown Rochester Jewelry Theft

The men responsible for restraining an employee of a downtown Rochester jewelry store with duct tape while robbing the store at gunpoint last fall have been caught, police say.

Rochester Police Chief Steve Schettenhelm announced the capture of the three men on Tuesday morning: two have been charged with armed robbery and face life in prison; the third man cooperated with police and is being charged with an unrelated crime.

Schettenhelm said a meal at Chicken Shack just before the Nov. 2 robbery of Antiques by Pamela ultimately led to the arrest.

The robbery

At , hats and sunglasses walked into the store, where a woman was working alone. The men bound her hands and legs with duct tape and placed her on the floor while pointing a gun at her, according to police.

The men took a large quantity of jewelry from two display cases and left the store shortly after, police say. A surveillance video recorded them walking south on the west side of Main Street.

The investigation

Immediately after the robbery, an email advisory was sent to downtown businesses providing information about the crime, Schettenhelm said. "The owner and a manager at Chicken Shack called to provide information that three suspicious subjects had been in their business just prior to the crime," he said. "They were also able to provide information that led to the name of one of those individuals."

Rochester Detectives Frank Moon and Merlin Taylor used this information to identify the three men who were in Chicken Shack as the three men who robbed Pamela's, Schettenhelm said. The men were then apprehended by law enforcement officers.

Charged with armed robbery with a maximum penalty of life in prison are:

• Johnny Matthew Hall, 32, of Troy. He was arrested in Cleveland with the assistance of the U.S. Marshals Service and arraigned in 52-3 District Court on Monday. Bond was set at $150,000. He is lodged in the Oakland County Jail.
• Kevin Andrew Papuga, 22, of White Lake Township. He turned himself in upon notice of the charges. He was arraigned March 4 and was released after posting a $25,000 cash bond.

The third individual involved in the robbery cooperated with the investigation, Schettenhelm said, and is being charged in an unrelated narcotics case in Macomb County. 

The jewelry

Detectives traced the stolen jewelry to a location in Novi, and 17 items were recovered. The remaining jewelry was sold or melted down and was not able to be recovered, Schettenhelm said.

Thank-yous

The Rochester Police Department offered up "thanks" to the following individuals and agencies for assistance in what they called a "very intense and complex investigation:" Chicken Shack, Oakland County Prosecutor’s Office, Troy Police Department, Oakland County Narcotics Enforcement Team, Oakland County Sherriff’s Office-Fugitive Apprehension Team, U.S. Marshall’s Service, and the Cuyahoga County (Ohio) Sherriff’s Office.

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