BANGOR, Maine — A Dedham man who initially was considered a victim in an armed robbery in August at a motel here was arrested Friday after police investigated his cellphone text messages. Investigators say he was the mastermind behind the drug-related crime.
Christopher Cook, 27, has been charged with Class A robbery in connection with the Aug. 22 incident that involved two armed men dressed in hoodies barging into a room at the Motel 6 to steal money from a man who admitted to police he had been selling heroin, according to an affidavit filed by investigators. Cook and his mother were visiting the alleged dealer in the room the man was renting when the robbery occurred.
Police investigators examined surveillance videos from the motel and a store across the street that allegedly showed Cook on the phone just before the robbery and that captured the arrival and departure of the two male suspects. When leaving, one of the two men is seen carrying a bag in the video.
Police then accessed Cook’s cellphone texts, which indicated “that Mr. Cook set the robbery up and that he was working with the two male suspects,” Bangor police Detective Tim Shaw said in the affidavit filed at the Penobscot Judicial Center about Cook’s arrest.
“He tells them to come into the room behind him when he enters and to point the gun at him,” the detective said about text messages Cook allegedly sent.
Cook left the motel room to get a soda, and the robbery occurred as he returned, the detective reported.
In another text, Cook states, “the safes under the bed,” and he also sent a message about not opening the safe until he meets up with them later, the affidavit states.
Cook also tells the men, not to “[expletive] this up,” according to the affidavit.
The man who rented the motel room was bleeding from the head when officers arrived. He initially reported that he was hanging out with two friends, later identified as Cook and his mom, and that two armed men barged into the room and attacked them and took a bag containing a computer and $2,000 in inheritance.
The man later “admitted to me that the $2,000 that was in the bag was proceeds he had received from dealing drugs that day,” and that he believed there was 2 or 3 grams of heroin in the bag that was taken, Shaw said in the affidavit.
Questions about whether the alleged drug dealer will be charged or if police have any leads about the two men who pulled off the robbery could not be answered Tuesday.
“It’s an ongoing investigation,” Sgt. Tim Cotton said Tuesday.
Cook’s bail was set at $10,000 cash. He remained at Penobscot County Jail on Tuesday evening, a jail official said.
If convicted of Class A robbery, Cook could face up to 30 years in prison.