A Schuylkill County resident has been identified as the prime suspect in a series of armed robberies of convenience stores over the last week in the county and Berks County.

John Bennett, 32, of Cressona, was arraigned before District Judge David Plachko, of Port Carbon, on charges related to a high-speed chase he was involved in on Tuesday in which he crashed his 1993 Mercedes-Benz vehicle into a state police cruiser belonging to the Schuylkill Haven barracks.

The pursuit began at 12:50 p.m. on Route 443 in Wayne Township when troopers saw a vehicle that matched the description of a suspect vehicle involved in the armed robberies. The driver failed to stop and the pursuit began. During the pursuit the vehicle crashed into the unoccupied and unmarked state police cruiser on Panther Valley Road in the area of Beckville Road, near Cressona. The driver, identified as Bennett, then ran but was taken into custody by troopers.

In relation to the pursuit Bennett was charged with a felony count of fleeing or attempting to elude police, misdemeanor count of recklessly endangering another person, and summary traffic charges including driving on the wrong side of the road, not driving on roadways laned for traffic, driving at a unsafe speed, careless driving and reckless driving. Bennett has not yet been charged with the robberies.

Plachko denied Bennett bail saying because he was told by troopers that Bennett was being investigated for committing the five armed robberies of convenient stores in Schuylkill County. Plachko also said Bennett was a prime suspect in crimes committed in Berks County and has a lengthy prior criminal record which include arrests for burglary, forgery drug possession and assault.

Bennett is a suspect in an armed robbery that occurred at 12:30 a.m. Monday at the US Gas Station in Strausstown, Berks County.

Troopers believe Bennett was responsible for four robberies that occurred in Schuylkill County last weekend.

The first robbery in Schuylkill County occurred at the Mobil Gas Station in Cressona borough at 9:15 p.m. Saturday. The second occurred at 6:10 a.m. Sunday at the Speedway Gas Station in Pine Grove Township, and in less than an hour a third occurred at the Auburn Food Mart in West Brunswick Township. Troopers said the fourth occurred on Sunday at the Vista Fuel, located along Route 61 in Schuylkill Haven. Schuylkill Haven police are investigating that robbery.

Troopers did not release any information on the amount of money stolen in the robberies.

In each case a white man entered the businesses brandishing a black handgun and demanding money.

Troopers are also investigating whether Bennett was responsible for two armed robberies last week in Schuylkill County. One occurred at the Unimart Exxon in West Mahanoy Township on April 20 and the other at the Turkey Hill Mini Mart in Lavelle, Butler Township, on April 21.

In each of the seven robberies troopers noted the suspect in each has similar skin color and height of the suspect.