LOCKPORT – Niagara County Judge Matthew J. Murphy III increased bail to $75,000 Tuesday for a Town of Lockport man accused of robbing two gas station convenience stores.
Danny P. Merritt, 33, of Murphy Road, was scheduled for a preindictment plea Tuesday for the first robbery, May 5 at a Sunoco station at South Transit and Robinson roads. But that was canceled after his June 26 arrest, charging him with a holdup that morning at the Sanborn Family Mart on Saunders Settlement Road.
Assistant District Attorney Claudette S. Caldwell urged Murphy not to allow any bail, since Merritt was free on $20,000 bail on the Lockport case when the Sanborn stickup occurred.
“I’m concerned that if he gets out he would do another robbery,” Caldwell said, adding that Merritt is an admitted cocaine user. However, Murphy settled for raising the bail from a combined $30,000 on the two charges.
Danny P. Merritt, 33, of Murphy Road, was scheduled for a preindictment plea Tuesday for the first robbery, May 5 at a Sunoco station at South Transit and Robinson roads. But that was canceled after his June 26 arrest, charging him with a holdup that morning at the Sanborn Family Mart on Saunders Settlement Road.
Assistant District Attorney Claudette S. Caldwell urged Murphy not to allow any bail, since Merritt was free on $20,000 bail on the Lockport case when the Sanborn stickup occurred.
“I’m concerned that if he gets out he would do another robbery,” Caldwell said, adding that Merritt is an admitted cocaine user. However, Murphy settled for raising the bail from a combined $30,000 on the two charges.