CLEARFIELD – A DuBois man is facing charges for his involvement with allegedly robbing two juveniles in Clearfield Borough in early March.
Jarrod M. Gesin, 41, is charged by Clearfield Borough police with two counts each of robbery and conspiracy and criminal use of communications facility, all felonies, as well as simple assault, terroristic threats, recklessly endangering another person, theft by unlawful taking and receiving stolen property, all misdemeanors.
According to the affidavit of probable cause, on March 8, Assistant Police Chief Nathan Curry returned a telephone call from a 16-year-old boy regarding a reported robbery that occurred in the East End area.
The victim agreed to detail the incident in a recorded interview at the police station. He arrived in the company of his mother and victim 2; his mother advised Curry it was okay for him to interview her son privately.
Prior to the interview, Curry learned the victim had picked up Jonathan Lippart of Harrisburg at the N&T Convenience Store on Bigler Avenue around 7:30 p.m. Another officer obtained a photograph of the suspect from the store’s surveillance camera.
The victim was presented with the photograph and positively identified him as “Jonathan,” as he knew him from SnapChat. He said he and his 17-year-old friend (victim 2) were in Clearfield, and saw Lippart was in need of a ride and would pay cash.
He showed Curry messages he’d exchanged with Lippart earlier in the day, indicating plans to pick him up. He said he pulled into the lot behind the store, Lippart exited and entered their vehicle. Lippart sat in the rear behind victim 2.
Lippart asked if they could also go pick up his friend in the 400 block of Hill Street Extension. Once at this address, Lippart’s friend got in and sat in the rear behind him. The victim took the men to an address in the 600 block of Dorey Street.
The victim said he was directed to park as far left as possible in the parking lot because there was assigned parking spots. This, he said, was when Lippart’s arm came up around his friend, victim 2, and Lippart began to tase him.
At the same time, he said he was grabbed from behind, and felt something “like a gun” touch his head. He put his hands up in the air and the men reportedly told the victims to give them “everything they got.”
As this is happening, he said he picked up his wallet from the center console and handed it to one of the men in the backseat. He was also reportedly directed to hand over keys to the vehicle, which he did.
The two men got out with his wallet, car keys and victim 2’s cell phone. The victims also got out, began to walk and formulate their next course of action. They went back to the car and spoke to a female outside the Dorey Street address.
She asked what they were doing there, and the victim told her they were looking for his keys. The female said she didn’t see any keys lying around in the area, but a man came out with keys that were found outside the door.
The victim said he took the keys and left the parking lot with victim 2. Afterwards, he said he received a SnapChat message from Lippart, who allegedly stated: “hey young bull, no hard feelings … I’d think twice of coming at me.
“I’d kill everything in your crib down to your goldfish, bro with six, hood [expletives] with AKs. Don’t try me. You got what you got, so move on and keep on living. Until next time.”
Victim 2 corroborated his friend’s (victim 1) report, adding the man who came outside with the keys appeared to be Lippart’s friend. He said he was 75 percent sure because he was wearing the same clothes and had the car keys.
On March 9, Sgt. Daniel Podliski interviewed Lippart and asked him to detail the date in question. He said he was at a female’s residence all day, and didn’t leave until around midnight.
Then, he claimed he was the “casino,” also known as the N&T Convenience Store, until 3 a.m., and when informed of the allegations against him, Lippart denied any involvement in the robbery.
Podliski confronted Lippart with surveillance that showed him at the store around 7 p.m., and he admitted to having been there, but said he didn’t think it was that early in the evening.
Lippart went on to admit to having smoked to “self-medicate” and being dropped off there by two girls he’d just met. He said he left the store with someone he found a ride with.
Lippart described the front-seat passenger, which matched that of the 17-year-old juvenile (victim 2). Lippart said he didn’t know the males and went up to them asking for a ride.
At this point, Podliski requested and received permission to review messages on Lippart’s phone, which included an incriminating conversation with Gesin. Lippart claimed he thought the juveniles giving him a ride were going to “jump him.”
When police went to the Hill Street Extension address to execute a search warrant for items related to the robbery, Gesin denied any involvement. It was learned Lippart had removed items from the residence and his whereabouts were unknown.
Gesin had his preliminary hearing continued Wednesday until 10 a.m. April 7 during centralized court. His bail is set at $100,000 monetary.