Cape teen accused in additional robberies
A Cape Coral teen accused of robbing a Circle K on Friday morning has been charged with three additional robberies that occurred within an hour of one another, officials said Tuesday.
Brian Robert Covello, 17, has been charged with four counts of robbery without a firearm and one count of loitering and prowling.
Covello is accused of robbing a Circle K at 1523 N.W. Pine Island Road, a Circle K at 533 Cape Coral Parkway, a BP gas station at 2231 Del Prado Blvd. and a Circle K at 2505 Santa Barbara Blvd.
Covello made off with a total of $325 in the robberies, according to police.
He told the clerks of all four stores he had a gun and demanded cash, city spokesperson Connie Barron said. However, Covello is not accused of actually having possession of a firearm during the alleged robberies.
Clerks described the person who robbed them as a white male wearing a dark-hooded sweatshirt and dark sweat pants.
A police officer spotted Covello behind a Circle K at 2808 Del Prado Blvd. at approximately 3:50 a.m. Friday and arrested him for loitering, Barron said.
Witnesses later identified Covello as the alleged robber, she added.
Covello was taken to the Lee County Jail where he was told about the additional charges and processed, Barron said.
He was held at the Southwest Florida Detention Center on Tuesday.