NAZARETH MAN INDICTED FOR FOUR MONROE COUNTY ROBBERIES

Martin C. Carlson, Acting United States Attorney for the Middle District of Pennsylvania, announced that a federal grand jury yesterday returned an indictment charging a Nazareth, Pennsylvania resident with robbing a Wawa store three times in October 2007 and robbing the Pocono Community Bank in January 2008.

Carlson stated that John Snuggs, age 41, is charged with robbing the Wawa store on Route 209 in Broadheadsville on October 11, 16, and 24, 2007, and the Pocono Community Bank, also on Route 209 in Broadheadsville, on January 23, 2008. The indictment alleges that Snuggs obtained a total of approximately $377 in the Wawa robberies, and $18,155 in the bank robbery and that he used dangerous weapons and issued threats during the commission of the robberies.

Carlson noted that Snuggs’ arrest and indictment resulted from an intensive cooperative investigation conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Pennsylvania State Police, and local police from Monroe and Northampton Counties.

Carlson noted that if Snuggs is convicted of the charges, he faces up to 20 years in prison, a three-year term of supervised release to follow any prison sentence, a fine of up to $250,000, and a $100 special assessment for each robbery.

Carlson noted that Assistant United States Attorney Francis P. Sempa is prosecuting the case.

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An Indictment or Information is not evidence of guilt but simply a description of the charge made by the Grand Jury and/or United States Attorney against a defendant. A charged Defendant is presumed innocent until a jury returns a unanimous finding that the United States has proven the defendant’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt or until the defendant has pled guilty to the charges.