Four Frewsburg teens face second-degree robbery charges in the April 15 robbery of a Wilson Farms store on Hazeltine Avenue in Jamestown.
Jamestown police charged the teens Wednesday after tips from the public helped identify the robbers.
"The surveillance photographs and pictures of the masks were sent to The Post-Journal, YNN and Buffalo media," said Capt. Robert Samuelson of the Jamestown Police Dept. "Once those photos were released to the media, people recognized these masks as belonging specifically to these individuals."
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Andrew Whitford
Through interviews and the rest of the investigation, police officers discovered they were looking for five people, not three as they initially thought. While three people in masks entered the store, two more people waited in a car a short distance away acting as a lookout.
Andrew S. Whitford, 18, Brandon M. Cantrell, 18, and Kyle D. Elderkin, 19, all of Frewsburg have all been charged with second-degree robbery for the incident. A 15-year-old juvenile who is also being charged in connection with the crime is having his case handled through Family Court. The fifth person is in custody on an unrelated charge at the Chautauqua County Jail. Police expect to eventually charge the fifth person as well.
"We thank the public for bringing all of this information forward to us," Samuelson said. "This was a very serious crime and we're glad to finally have a conclusion to it."
Anyone with information related to a crime can call the Jamestown Police Department TIPS line at 483-8477 or leave a tip through the link provided on their Facebook page at www.facebook.com/jamestownpolicedepartment. All tips will remain confidential.