John Baldwin has been charged with robbery, aggravated assault and several weapons offenses in connection with the March 24 robbery of Medical Home Pharmacy.
TRENTON — A city man is believed to be connected to the robbery of the drugstore where he works, a crime that took place shortly after he was released on bail for a separate offense.
John Baldwin has been charged with robbery, aggravated assault and several weapons offenses in connection with the March 24 robbery of Medical Home Pharmacy on South Broad Street, where two masked assailants — one male and one female — stole money and cell phones from 11 customers and prescription painkillers from behind the counter.
According to Mercer County Assistant Prosecutor Michael Borgos, security footage from outside the store that showed a maroon Mitsubishi Eclipse that seemed to be involved in the incident is what led police to Baldwin, who owns the same type of car in the same color.
A subsequent search of Baldwin’s apartment turned up prescription pill bottles hidden in the insulation of an upstairs room. Identification numbers on the bottles were traced to Medical Home Pharmacy, Borgos said.
Baldwin’s roommate, who had given the police permission to search the upstairs room, said Baldwin did not have access to it, as the entrance was accessible only from the roommate’s bedroom, Borgos said.
While public defender Samuel Goldberg said Baldwin’s involvement couldn’t be proven due to the masks the assailants wore and because the car’s license plate was not visible on the security footage, Mercer County Superior Court Judge Thomas Sumners maintained a bail of $200,000 cash or bond.
“This is all circumstantial evidence, but I think it’s strong circumstantial evidence,” Sumners said.
Baldwin was previously charged with possession of controlled dangerous substances and intent to distribute, following an incident where police spotted several pill bottles with their labels torn off in the same maroon Eclipse, after Baldwin had been pulled over.
He had been released on bail of more than $30,000 for another unrelated incident about a week before the pharmacy was robbed, Borgos said.
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