DAUPHIN COUNTY — A 33-year-old Tower City man will serve time in prison after pleading guilty to attacking a cashier during the robbery of a Dauphin County Dollar General Store last year.
Ronald L. Brubacher III pleaded guilty to two felony counts of robbery on the eve of his trial, according to the Dauphin County District Attorney’s Office. He was accused of robbing the Dollar General Store in Dauphin on April 9, threatening two workers there and striking one with what was later determined to be a BB gun.
Brubacher entered the store brandishing the weapon and demanding cash, according to prosecutors. When the first clerk could not get the register open in time, Brubacher struck him in the head with the gun. He then fled the store with the money drawer, which contained several hundred dollars in cash, prosecutors say.
Brubacher fled in his vehicle to Lancaster County, where prosecutors say he struck two vehicles in Elizabethtown and Mount Joy. He was eventually apprehended near Route 283 by State Police.
When he was captured, Brubacher had fentanyl and drug paraphernalia in his possession. It is believed the motive for the robbery was to fuel Brubacher’s opioid addiction, prosecutors say.
Brubacher reportedly turned down a 7- to 14-year prison sentence plea offer from Chief Deputy District Attorney Stephen R. Zawisky, deciding to plead without any agreements before Dauphin County Judge Scott Arthur Evans, according to the DA’s Office.
He will be sentenced in April, prosecutors say.
Zawisky credited several good Samaritans whose swift action in contacting the police led to Brubacher’s capture. He also credited the work of the Pennsylvania State Police, specifically Troopers Markey and Baluh. Zawisky stated:
“It is ridiculous that you have a kid who is working at Dollar General trying to make a honest living and he has to endure being robbed and assaulted so that someone can get high,” Zawisky said in a press release. “It was the victim’s first day on the job. The Commonwealth will be requesting a lengthy state sentence.”
