Bucks man shot by FBI agent during botched robbery faces charges
Charles Emrich II is a suspect in a string of robberies at 7 Eleven stores throughout the region.
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A Langhorne man who was shot by an FBI agent during a botched 7-Eleven robbery last month now faces criminal charges, investigators said Tuesday.
Charles Emrich II, 54, faces multiple counts of robbery, conspiracy, aggravated assault, and related offenses, court records show. He was arraigned July 1 after being discharged from St. Mary Medical Center, where he had been hospitalized since his shooting June 6.
Emrich remains in custody at the Bucks County prison with bail set at $950,000.
His roommate, John Sugalski, 66, was taken into custody shortly after the shooting, and is charged with robbery, conspiracy, and related offenses, court records show. Investigators say Sugalski was the driver of a getaway car, and plotted to help Emrich steal a cash register at knifepoint from the store.
The two are suspects in at least nine robberies of 7-Eleven stores in lower Bucks County and Hamilton, N.J., according to the affidavit of probable cause for their arrests.
Law enforcement officials were conducting surveillance on the home the men share on June 6 when they saw the two drive toward the 7-Eleven on Pine Street near Watson Avenue in Langhorne, the affidavit says.
An FBI agent assisting with the investigation entered the store and encountered Emrich, who was armed and carrying the store’s cash register drawer, according to Bucks County District Attorney Matthew Weintraub.
Emrich ignored the officers’ commands to drop the weapon and money while “howling like an animal," causing the officer to “open fire in defense of himself as well as the customers and employees present in the store,” Weintraub said in a statement.
Weintraub’s office investigated the shooting and ultimately cleared the officer of any wrongdoing.
“Unquestionably, Emrich disregarded lawful commands to stop and drop his weapon," the district attorney said. “Emrich clearly placed the officer and the two store clerks in apparent and imminent danger of death or serious bodily injury.”