2 charged in string of armed robberies, including Lebanon gas station

Two men are facing federal charges in a string of armed robberies in southwest Ohio, including at gas stations in Lebanon, Hamilton and Deerfield Twp..

A federal grand jury indicted Willie James Attaway, 30, of Cincinnati, and Lamond Johnson, 35, most recently of Cincinnati, who appeared Thursday in U.S. District Court in Cincinnati after a federal grand jury indicted them on 14 counts, according to the U.S. Department of Justice Southern District of Ohio. The charges include the Feb. 9 death of Roop C. Gupta, owner of Maderia Beverage in Madeira.

ExplorePolice: Gunman robs Hamilton gas station within hour of Warren County robbery

Attaway and Johnson are accused of conspiring to commit robberies on Feb. 8 and 9 at the following locations:

Marathon on North Broadway in Lebanon
Shell on Dixie Highway in Hamilton
Shell on Montgomery Road in Deerfield Twp.
Madeira Beverage on Kenwood Road in Madeira
Sunoco on Kenwood Road in Blue Ash

The incident in Hamilton was reported just after 8:30 p.m. Feb. 8 when a gunman entered the the gas station store and pointed a gun, according to Hamilton police. The suspect reportedly matched the description of a person involved in another robbery at the Deerfield Twp. Shell earlier the same night.

Any local charges against Attaway and Johnson in connection to the incidents will be superseded by the federal indictment and the cases will be prosecuted federally, according to the DOJ.

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Kristen Spicker