Reading Man Charged With Tewksbury Armed Robbery

Just over a day after an armed robbery at the Shell gas station on Main Street in Tewksbury, police have arrested a man who they believe is responsible for a string of robberies in the area.

Tewksbury Police said in a press release that they arrested Frank Pendergast, 45, of 4 Elderberry Road Apt. 103, Reading, and charged him with armed robbery and armed assault with intent to rob.

Police allege that Pendergast robbed the Tewksbury Shell just after midnight on Monday, robbed a Woburn bank later in the day and also completed another robbery in Billerica on Sunday.

During the incident in Tewksbury, Pendergast allegedly approached the clerk with a knife and demanded money from the cash register, saying that if the clerk didn’t comply he would be stabbed, according to police. After taking about $180, he fled on foot, police said.

On Tuesday, police said they followed Pendergast to a residence on Pinecrest Road in North Reading. It was there he was taken into custody by North Reading Police, Tewksbury Police, and members of the FBI Bank Robbery Task Force.

In addition to the charges in Massachusetts, Pendergast is also a suspect in a robbery that recently occurred in Nashua, N.H., police said in the press release.

Following a medical evaluation, Pendergast was slated to be arraigned in Lowell District Court on Wednesday.