FBI agent shoots suspect during robbery of Bucks County 7-Eleven
Investigators say Charles Emrich threatened a clerk with a knife, and may have been involved in a string of other robberies.
A Langhorne man was shot Thursday night during the thwarted robbery of a 7-Eleven store near his home, investigators said.
Charles Emrich II, 53, was in stable condition at St. Mary Medical Center after being wounded by an FBI agent who had been assigned to investigate a recent rash of armed robberies at different 7-Elevens in lower Bucks County. Criminal charges are pending against Emrich.
His roommate, John Sugalski, 66, was taken into custody shortly after the shooting and charged with robbery, conspiracy, and related offenses, court records show. Investigators say Sugalski was the driver of a getaway car, and plotted to help Emrich steal a cash register at knifepoint from the store.
Sugalski remained in custody Friday, unable to post 10 percent of his $950,000 bail, court records show. There was no indication that he had hired an attorney.
Although Sugalski and Emrich were only identified as suspects in the robbery on Thursday, a robber matching Emrich’s description was involved in similar thefts at nine 7-Eleven stores throughout Bucks County and Hamilton, N.J., in the last two months, according to the arrest affidavit.
The vehicle driven by Sugalski was seen on surveillance footage leaving two of those robberies: One on May 26 at the same Langhorne store where Emrich was shot, and another three days later in Hamilton.
An FBI spokesperson declined to comment on the case. Bucks County District Attorney Matthew Weintraub said his office would investigate the shooting, with assistance from the FBI.
Police had been investigating Sugalski and Emrich since May 30, when officers from Hamilton pulled over Sugalski’s silver Acura sedan, recognizing it from surveillance footage from the 7-Eleven robbery the night before, the affidavit said.
Investigators noted a discarded cash drawer from one of the robberies was located near the apartment where the men live.
Hamilton police, with help from an FBI task force, started keeping watch on the apartment after another 7-Eleven robbery on June 1 in Morrisville, according to the affidavit.
On Thursday, two Bensalem Township police officers, assisting in the investigation, saw Sugalski’s Acura leave his driveway and head toward the 7-Eleven on Pine Street near Watson Avenue in Langhorne, the affidavit said. They notified an FBI task force officer who was in the area.
The FBI officer went to the store and watched as Emrich left the vehicle and entered, according to the affidavit. The officer ran inside after he saw the suspect jump over the counter and grab the store’s cash register. A clerk inside the store later told police that Emrich had threatened him with a knife, demanding money.
While inside the store, the officer, with his gun drawn, ordered Emrich to stop, the affidavit said. Instead, Emrich walked closer to the officer, at which point he fired two shots.
Emrich was taken by medics to St. Mary. A knife was recovered from him at the scene, the affidavit said.
Early Friday, Sugalski was interviewed by officers in Bensalem, whom he told that he had “only driven Emrich to get cigarettes" at the store, and had left the scene shortly after.