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Police ask public to help solve robbery

Did man who died in fiery collision commit the crime?

Seen through a security camera, a man with a long gun robs the Sunoco gas station in Keeseville Saturday, Sept. 22. (Photo provided by New York State Police)

State police requested the public’s help in determining who robbed the Sunoco gas station in Keeseville last Saturday.

That calls into question whether the robber was Desmond Clark, 28, of Plattsburgh, who fled from troopers on Interstate 87 the next day and died in a fiery head-on collision. Police had said Monday that Clark was a suspect in the robbery. He still is, but the investigation continues, according to Capt. Robert LaFountain, head of the State Police Bureau of Criminal Investigation.

In a press release Friday afternoon, state police described the lone robber as a black male, approximately 5 feet 8 inches tall, weighing between 175 and 200 pounds. Police said the man entered the Sunoco on U.S. Route 9 north at around 11:30 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 22. He wore a dark hooded sweatshirt, dark pants, dark shoes and dark gloves. Carrying a long rifle and a black bag, he demanded money from the clerk. The man then left the store, fled on foot and is believed to have run north on state Route 9N.

The next day, at 11:07 a.m. Sunday, police spotted Clark, who is black, as he drove south on I-87 in his 2008 Pontiac G6. Police said they tried to initiate a traffic stop, and he did not pull over. They pursued him, and around Schoon Lake he crossed the median, began driving the wrong way in the northbound lane and eventually crashed head-on into a 2011 GMC Sierra pickup truck.

Clark died on the scene. Police said the collision appeared to be intentional on his part, and Essex County Coroner Frank Whitelaw listed his death as a suicide.

LaFountain declined to answer questions about if the robber eventually got into a vehicle. He said police aren’t releasing any information on the investigation at this time, just requesting it. He said police may release more information next week.

Police previously declined to answer whether a gun matching the one used in the robbery was found in Clark’s car.

If you have any information about the robbery, state police ask you to call them in Plattsburgh at 518-563-3761.

The passengers of the truck, Curtis E. Smith, 52, and Linda M. Hutti, 57, both of Peru, New York, were transported to Glens Falls Hospital. Smith had back and leg injuries and Hutti had a back injury. Both were later transferred to Albany Medical Center, and on Monday they were transferred to Champlain Valley Physicians Hospital in Plattsburgh, where they were released Friday.

Suzanne Moore of the Press-Republican contributed to this report.

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