Homeless man accused of robbing Harrison Sunoco at knifepoint is jailed without bond

A district judge denied bail for a homeless man accused of holding a knife to a Harrison gas station attendant’s throat during a robbery Tuesday night.

Nicholas Dupree, 21, was charged with a felony count of robbery along with counts of theft, possession of an instrument of crime, simple assault and reckless endangerment.

District Judge Carolyn Bengel denied bail for Dupree during his arraignment Wednesday and ordered him detained in the Allegheny County Jail while awaiting a preliminary hearing in her court March 1, according to court records.

Officers from Harrison, Tarentum, Brackenridge and the Allegheny Valley police departments responded about 11 p.m. Tuesday to the Sunoco gas station in the 2600 block of Freeport Road after a man walked in and put a knife to the clerk’s throat and directed him behind the counter to empty three cash registers into a bag, according to a criminal complaint.

The clerk told police he didn’t get a good look at the suspect but said he was a black man wearing a surgical-style mask and was able to provide officers with a clothing description.

A witness told police he saw a man walk across Freeport Road, enter the store and then leave following the same direction.

A K-9 unit from Allegheny Valley searched the area but was unable to locate the suspect, police said.

Investigators said they reviewed video from license plate readers along the streets near the Sunoco that shows a man dressed in the same clothing seen in the store cameras walking along Beacon Street and Freeport Road about 10 minutes before the robbery, the complaint said.

Officers identified the man as Dupree from previous encounters they had with him. They said he is known to frequent an apartment in the 1000 block of Beacon Street and that video from the plate readers show him walking toward Beacon after the robbery, the complaint said.

Photos of Dupree that police were able to view on social media show a tattoo on his left shoulder that matches one seen in the convenience store video, the complaint said.

Dupree wasn’t at the apartment on Beacon, but police found a surgical mask outside on a barbecue grill. People in the home told them he had been there prior to the robbery being reported, police said.

While police were talking to the apartment occupants, Dupree called one of them and told her he was walking around Brackenridge, the complaint said.

Dupree was taken into custody after a warrant was issued for his arrest, the complaint said.

Court records show that Harrison police charged Dupree in October with four counts each of making terroristic threats and simple assault, according to court records.

Five preliminary hearing dates were rescheduled for Dupree since the charges were initially filed, the court docket shows.

A bail hearing to determine whether a bond will be set for his release is scheduled before Bengel on March 1, records show.