A Bellefonte couple was arrested and charged on Saturday in connection with an armed robbery at a Benner Township motel and burglaries at three State College area businesses.
According to criminal complaints filed by state police at Rockview, 21-year-old Tre Estes-Stalnos and 20-year-old Skylar Brown are accused of robbing a man at gunpoint on Jan. 8 at the Econo Lodge on Benner Pike near Bellefonte.
Estes-Stalnos also was charged on Saturday by State College police with breaking into Rite Aid in State College in December and two Nittany Mall businesses earlier this month.
State police wrote that a man had arranged through an online service to meet Brown at the motel and pay $500 “for sexual favors.” When he arrived at the motel, Estes-Stalnos allegedly brandished a hand gun and told the man to drop his wallet and phone on the ground. Estes-Stalnos then kicked him and struck him in the head with the gun before fleeing on foot with the items, according to the complaint.
Surveillance video allegedly showed Estes-Stalnos casing the property two days earlier.
In another criminal complaint, State College police wrote that Estes-Stalnos used a 9mm handgun to shoot his way into the Rite Aid on South Atherton Street while the drug store was closed during the early morning hours of Dec. 16. He allegedly stole 13 prescriptions valued at $4,528 and caused $2,272 in damage to the store.
Police also accused Estes-Stalnos of breaking into the Nittany Mall while it was closed by shooting through a glass door on Jan. 19. He allegedly shattered the display window at Journey’s and stole $217 from the register. A 9 mm shell casing was found outside the store.
He allegedly then broke several cabinets and rummaged through items at the I-Cell Repair kiosk in the mall.
Estes-Stalnos and Brown were charged after Bellefonte police conducted a traffic stop on Saturday and recognized Brown as the woman involved with the Econo Lodge incident. Estes-Stalnos was allegedly wearing the same clothing and matched the description of the male suspect, while police wrote that Brown admitted to being the woman pictured in a verification photo on the website used to arrange the meeting with the man.
A search of the couple’s residence allegedly yielded several pieces of evidence, including two guns that had been reported as stolen. Police wrote that Estes-Stalnos also has a felony conviction for burglary in Florida and was not permitted to possess a firearm.
State College police wrote that Estes-Stalnos matched the suspect who entered Rite-Aid, that his shoes had the same distinct pattern on the sole that was found on footprints at the mall, and that ammunition found at the residence matched the shell casings discovered at the mall.
Estes-Stalnos is charged with 22 felonies, including multiple counts of robbery, burglary, criminal trespass, criminal mischief, prohibited possession of firearms and receiving stolen property, as well as one count of felony theft and misdemeanor counts of possession of marijuana and drug paraphernalia.
Brown is charged with six felonies, including multiple counts of robbery and receiving stolen property, along with misdemeanor counts of marijuana and drug paraphernalia possession.
Both were arraigned before District Judge Kelley Gillette-Walker, who denied bail citing flight risk, risk to public safety and a prior similar offense in Florida.
Preliminary hearings are scheduled for Feb. 9.
