CLEARFIELD – A 21-year-old man accused of robbing two convenience stores at gunpoint waived his right to preliminary hearings on Wednesday.
Michael W. Welder Jr. is accused of two counts of robbery, four counts of criminal conspiracy, two counts of theft by unlawful taking, two counts of receiving stolen property, and two counts of recklessly endangering another person.
Court records indicate that Welder went into the Choice Convenience Store in Chester Hill Borough on Jan. 16, 2006, held a gun to the cashier and demanded money. The clerk gave him about $539 in cash.
When questioned about that incident, Welder told police that he was riding around with two other people when he came up with the idea to rob the store for money to buy drugs with. He stated he got the gun from one of the other guys, and they parked the truck behind a garage. They watched the store while he was going to and from it and kept in touch over cell phones. He then informed police that afterward at some point they went to Altoona and purchased “a lot of cocaine.”
The other incident is alleged to have occurred at the Morrisdale Country Convenience on March 11, 2006. Welder informed police that he robbed that store to pay off a cocaine debt. The gun was allegedly given to him by the same person who furnished him with the gun in the earlier burglary. Police indicated that Welder made off with about $385 from that robbery.
Welder is currently in Clearfield County Jail.