Baltimore County police have now arrested six members of what police say is a group of armed robbers from Baltimore City, charging them with committing 16 robberies in the area and the murder of a Nottingham liquor store owner.
 
The arrests were the result of a joint city-county investigation into crimes that took place between July 4 and July 30, including the July 16 murder of store owner Joon Kang, police said.
 
Police say the men worked “in concert” with one another during robberies that took place all over Baltimore city and county, including Catonsville, Towson, downtown Baltimore and Charles Village.

The suspects who have been charged are:

• Robert Napolean Crowder Jr., 30, of the 4600 block of Old Court Road, Randallstown. Crowder is accused of being the gunman in the case.

• Randolph Lee Hughes, 29, whose last known address was in the 1100 block of Cedar Croft Road, north Baltimore.

• Gregory Jerome Horne, 23, of the 4900 block of Edgemere Avenue, in Park Heights, northwest Baltimore.

• Keith Joshua Johnson Jr., 24, of the 2800 block of Quantico Avenue, also in the Park Heights area.

• Abayomi Nikomo McKenzie, 25, of the unit block of Breaker Court, in Essex.

• Tavon Anton Shuler, 30, of the 800 block of Glenwood Avenue, in the York Road corridor area of north Baltimore.

Police said additional charges are pending against the four. Two other men have been arrested but not yet charged.

Kang was shot to death at about 9 p.m. on July 16, when two men entered his store, Putty Hill Liquors in the 7900 block of Belair Road in Nottingham.

One man pointed a handgun at Kang in an apparent robbery attempt and during the robbery shot Kang, police said. The two then ran from the store.

While reviewing a surveillance video of the robbery, detectives said they recognized the suspects as members of a group police say are responsible for several other robberies in the region. Investigation of a July 30 attempted robbery led to the arrest of two suspects. Further investigation led to the identities of the other four, police said.

While being interviewed by homicide detectives, some of the suspects admitted taking part in the robberies. It was during those interviews that detectives learned the identity of Crowder who shot Kang, police said.

From information provided by the suspects, it was determined that all of them took part in the planning, execution, or sharing of the proceeds of these armed robberies, police said.

During this common scheme, the suspects “acted in concert” to commit armed robberies. It was during one of these incidents that Joon Kang was murdered, police said.

The six suspects charged so far are being held in the Baltimore County Detention Center, with bail denied.

The armed robberies and attempted armed robberies took place at the listed dates, times and places:

• July 4 , 3:34 p.m. Maisa Mart, 3300 block of Eastern Avenue, Highlandtown area, Baltimore (armed robbery);

• July 4, 4:28 p.m. Parkville Convenience, 7500 block of Harford Road, northeast Baltimore (armed robbery);

• July 6, 3:23 p.m. Lime Tree Liquors, 1700 block of East Northern Parkway,  Loch Raven area, northeast Baltimore (armed robbery);

• July 7, 6:44 p.m. Pleasant Stop Mart, 3200 block of Eastern Avenue, Highlandtown (armed robbery);

• July 7, 11:30 p.m. One Shop Stop, 4900 block of Frankford Avenue, Frankford area, northeast Baltimore (armed robbery);

• July 8, 7:19 p.m. Hamilton Park Liquors, 2300 block of East Northern Parkway, northeast Baltimore (armed robbery);

• July 9, 9:30 p.m. Gussie’s Liquor Store, 1700 block of Old Eastern Avenue, Middle River (armed robbery);
 
• July 14, 2:00 p.m. Good Spirits, 1900 block of Old Eastern Avenue, Middle River (armed robbery);
 
• July 14, 10:40 p.m.    The Liquor Store, 6100 block of Belair Road, northeast Baltimore (armed robbery);
 
• July 15, 2:35 p.m. The Store, Wine & Spirits, 6500 block of Frederick Road, Catonsville (armed robbery);
 
• July 16, 9:05 p.m. Putty Hill Liquors, 7900 block of Belair Road, Nottingham (murder, attempted armed robbery);
 
• July 22, 11:06 p.m.    Discount Liquors, 200 block of W. Saratoga Street, downtown Baltimore (armed robbery);
 
• July 24, 12:37 p.m.    Lime Tree Liquors, 1700 block of East Northern Parkway, Loch Raven area, northeast Baltimore (armed robbery);
 
• July 27, 8:22 p.m. McLellan’s Wine & Liquor, 6300 block of Sherwood Road, Towson (armed robbery);
 
• July 29, 7:40 p.m. Charles Village Liquors, 2400 block of St. Paul Street, Charles Village area, Baltimore (armed robbery);
 
• July 30, 11:30 a.m.  Hamilton Quick Mart, 3400 block of Hamilton Avenue, Hamilton area, Baltimore (Attempted armed robbery) .

Source: Baltimore County Police

This story has been updated.

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