Police have released the name of the Philadelphia man arrested in connection with the Jan. 9 armed robbery of Kranich’s Jewelers, 216 E. College Ave., in downtown State College, according to the Cary Police Department in Cary, N.C..
Rodger Kent Williams, 41, was arrested Jan. 28 in Cary, N.C. after robbing a jewelry store with two other men, according to an official at the Cary Police Department.
The three men entered the jewelry store on the morning of Jan. 28, brandished weapons and emptied the contents of multiple display counters into duffel bags, according to a press release issued by the Cary Police Department.
Police were able to apprehend Williams as he was fleeing the store, but the two other persons of interest in the robbery were able to get away and currently remain at large, according to the release.
In North Carolina, Williams was charged with one count of robbery with a dangerous weapon and one count of possession of a firearm by a felon, according to the release. Williams faces 21 years in prison if convicted and is currently being held at a facility in Raleigh, N.C., police said.
The State College Police Department, in conjunction with the Philadelphia office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, have significant evidence — including found stolen property and forensic evidence — to connect Williams to the Kranich’s Jewelers robbery.
On Jan. 9, three men entered Kranich’s Jewelers at about 10:20 a.m. and stole an undetermined amount of jewelry and a ring, watch and wallet of one employee before fleeing the store, police said.
One of the men held a gun to the head of one of the store’s employees, police said. No employees were injured during the robbery, police said.
