Police: Woman accused of robbing Sheetz in Lower Burrell identified by relative who called store
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A woman accused by Lower Burrell police of stealing a bottle of liquor from a convenience store and assaulting a clerk who tried to stop her from leaving has been ordered to stand trial.
Investigators said they were able to track the woman down after her aunt called the business several days later to inquire about what happened and gave a manager the suspect’s name.
Ashley Nicole Ribet, 27, of the 1100 block of River Road in South Buffalo Township was charged with a felony count of robbery along with counts of simple assault, criminal mischief, disorderly conduct and harassment in connection with the alleged Nov. 27 incident at the Sheetz on Craigdell Road, according to a criminal complaint.
Ribet waived her right to a preliminary hearing during an appearance Tuesday before District Judge Cheryl Peck Yakopek, who ordered Ribet to stand trial on the charges in Westmoreland County Common Pleas Court. A plea hearing is scheduled for June 28, court records show.
Police wrote in a criminal complaint charging Ribet that officers were dispatched to the Sheetz about 6:30 a.m. Nov. 27 for a report of someone who tried to steal a .750-liter bottle of Southern Comfort by trying to conceal it in a newspaper.
A clerk told police that he blocked the exit and was able to grab the bottle from the suspect, who began swinging at him with a fist until hitting the side of his head, the complaint said.
A customer intervened to end the scuffle, and the suspect fled into the parking lot and repeatedly punched the windshield of the clerk’s SUV until it shattered, according to investigators.
The clerk had red marks around his neck where his shirt was pulled by the suspect, police said. The man went to the hospital on his own to be checked for head pain, the complaint said.
Store personnel and witnesses told police the suspect was carrying a gray backpack and was wearing dark gray pants, a gray hooded sweatshirt and a Yankees baseball cap, the complaint said, but they were unable to say what the robber’s gender was.
When investigators returned to the store Dec. 4 to review video surveillance, a manager told them that they were able to identify the suspect because her aunt called to ask about the incident and gave them Ribet’s name, the complaint said.
The woman told the manager that she was aware that Ribet was involved in an incident that day at a gas station and was trying to glean more information about what happened, the complaint said.
Incident in Tarentum
Police did a criminal background search for Ribet and learned that on the same day she was accused of the theft at Sheetz, she was charged by Tarentum police in connection with an incident at the Marathon gas station, the complaint said.
Tarentum police on Nov. 27 charged Ribet with making terroristic threats, simple assault, criminal mischief, disorderly conduct and public drunkenness, according to court records.
During a Jan. 18 preliminary hearing, District Judge Carolyn Bengel ordered Ribet to stand trial on those charges, according to court records.