Overnight, a Stow man attempted to rob two gas stations and a fast food restaurant by threatening he had a weapon, before being arrested in a neighboring city for an aggravated robbery charge in Cuyahoga Falls. 

Joe R. Schratz, 40, of North Norman Drive in Stow was arrested Sept. 20 and charged by Stow with aggravated robbery (first-degree felony) and kidnapping (second-degree felony).

On Monday (Sept. 19) evening around 11 p.m. Stow Police said they got a call from a 24-year-old clerk at the Fishcreek Road Speedway who said an adult white man threatened he had a weapon, took cash and forced her into a cooler, according to police. The clerk said the man left in a dark colored vehicle. 

Police Lt. Anne Stirm said the kidnapping charge stems from forcing the clerk into the cooler.

A few hours later (Sept. 20) around 2:30 a.m. a second aggravated robbery was reported by an employee at Taco Bell on Graham Road. The employee said an adult white male in a dark car ordered food at the drive-thru and threatened the clerk he had a gun. He attempted to enter the window, according to the report. She immediately closed the window and hid from the man and he left, said police.

Police said they learned that someone fitting Schratz's description was at Sheetz on Steels Corners Road just before the attempted robbery at Taco Bell. While at the gas station, he threatened that he had a gun to the clerk and he fled the store.

Shortly after the Taco Bell incident, Cuyahoga Falls Police officers found Schratz outside of a Walgreens and arrested him for another aggravated robbery incident in Cuyahoga Falls.

Schratz was arraigned this morning on the charges brought by the Cuyahoga Falls Police Department and then released into Stow's custody for booking before he goes to Summit County Jail, said Stirm.