Man Who Tried To Rob Lakewood Store To Be Sentenced

LAKEWOOD, OH — A man who tried to rob a convenience store in Lakewood will be sentenced this week.

Charles Aldridge, 34, tried to rob a store on Detroit Avenue in November 2019, prosecutors said. He has already pleaded guilty to charges of robbery and vandalism. He will be sentenced on Thursday.

On Nov. 14, 2019, Aldridge and Christopher Hresko, 31, tried to rob two convenience stores in Cleveland and Lakewood, prosecutors said.

At 6:15 p.m., they hit a store on W. 73rd and Detroit. Aldridge went to the register and demanded cash. He implied he had a gun. Hresko was the lookout. The employee refused to give Aldridge any money and the two would-be robbers ran off, prosecutors said.

Approximately 30 minutes later, Aldridge and Hresko went to a store on Grace Avenue and Detroit in Lakewood. Aldridge again approached a cashier, suggested he had a gun, and demanded money, according to prosecutors.

A second employee in the store saw what was happening and intervened. She tried to pull Aldridge out of the store, but Aldridge punched her in the face, breaking her glasses and hurting the employee's eye. Aldridge and Hresko again ran from the store, prosecutors said.

After police identified the two men and took them into custody, Hresko pleaded guilty to robbery and was sentenced to 2 years of probation.

Aldridge pleaded guilty to charges of robbery, vandalism and petty theft. He will be sentenced Thursday by Judge William McGinty.