Jailed man now faces armed robbery charges

An area man, already serving prison time for theft and burglary, has been indicted on charges stemming from a 2008 armed robbery at a local gas station/food center.

Johnathan R. Dooley, 21, 9219 Township Line Road, Rockford, faces two counts of aggravated robbery, two counts of robbery and one count of theft in connection with the Aug. 22, 2008, armed robbery at the Marathon station at 1027 N. Main St. in Celina. The offenses range from first-degree felonies to a first-degree misdemeanor.

Dooley, originally described as a lone gunman wearing a blue ski mask, allegedly entered the business at 11:04 p.m., brandished a weapon and demanded money from the cashier.

After taking the money from the register, the suspect fled on foot around the south end of the building. Investigators suspected the man had a vehicle waiting nearby, with those assumptions later confirmed.

Celina Police Detective Ron Waltmire worked the case for more than two years, gathering "bits and pieces" of information from various sources during the course of other non-related investigations. The break came late last year.

"We had gathered information and ruled out suspects along the way," Waltmire told The Daily Standard. "We finally received some good information that was enough to establish probable cause."

Authorities took the case to a Mercer County grand jury in February. Waltmire said there was a delay in serving indictment paperwork because Dooley was incarcerated at the Noble Correctional Institution in Caldwell. He has since been transported to the Mercer County Adult Detention Facility for local court proceedings.

The investigation also identified a second suspect who allegedly drove the car. His case is being reviewed by the Mercer County Prosecutor's Office.

Dooley and an accomplice were implicated in a Jan. 12, 2009, burglary at a Rockford-area home. The pair forcibly entered the residence and took items valued at more than $500.

The pair returned a short time later unaware the property owner had come home. They reportedly rang the door bell and again made forcible entry, according to Mercer County Sheriff's Office reports. The owner kept them from leaving until deputies arrived.

Dooley was sentenced in July 2009 to community control sanctions, which he violated in September of that year following termination from his place of employment for stealing and subsequent arrest. In January 2010, he was ordered to successfully complete up to six months at the WORTH Center in Lima. However, he was terminated from the program and sentenced to 10 months in prison on a theft charge and two years on a burglary charge with the time to be served concurrently.