×

Robbery suspect returned to Tupper Lake, charged

Smith remanded to Frankin County Jail

Jason Smith (Mobil Patrol photo)

TUPPER LAKE — The man suspected of robbing Ray’s Discount Liquor & Wine store at knifepoint was brought back to Tupper Lake Thursday evening to be charged after he was released from the Clinton County Sheriff’s Department, where he was being held on an unrelated burglary charge, village police Chief Eric Proulx said.

Jason Smith, 40, of Massena was arrested on two warrants, one for for first-degree robbery, a felony, the other for a parole violation.

Police said Smith entered Ray’s Discount Liquor & Wine store in Tupper Lake at 9:45 a.m. June 29, shortly after 90-year-old owner Mary Chapman returned from the bank with cash. Holding a knife to her back, he allegedly led her through the store and took an undisclosed amount of money from the cash register and the bank box before fleeing on foot, as recorded by security cameras in the store.

Smith had been arrested in Massena on July 8 for an alleged robbery in Plattsburgh. Tupper Lake police issued a warrant for his arrest then, but did not act on it until he was released from the Clinton Country holding facility.

Proulx said Smith has been remanded to the Franklin County Jail with no bail.

He also said the money stolen has not been recovered, and police are trying to piece together bank records before they release the dollar amount.

He said, given that armed robbery is a violent crime, Smith is likely to face a grand jury in county court.

Smith was charged in connection with the Plattsburgh incident with third-degree burglary and fourth-degree grand larceny, both felonies; he stole property from a Plattsburgh residence valued at more than $1,000, according to State Police records.

That burglary was reported at 7:59 a.m. Dec. 17, 2017.

Press-Republican Editor Suzanne Moore contributed to this report from Plattsburgh.

(Correction: An earlier version of this article incorrectly said Smith was arrested in Massena on June 8, not July 8.)

Starting at $3.92/week.

Subscribe Today