Cincinnati men facing federal charges in robbery spree in a tri-county area, including Hamilton

Cincinnati men are facing federal charges in a two-day armed robbery spree including at gas stations in Hamilton, Lebanon and Deerfield Twp. and one that resulted in a fatal shooting.

A federal grand jury indicted Willie James Attaway, 30, and Lamond Johnson, 35, Wednesday on 14 federal counts, according to the U.S. Department of Justice Southern District of Ohio. The charges include use of a firearm to commit murder during and in relation to a crime of violence for the Feb. 9 death of Roop C. Gupta, owner of Maderia Beverage in Madeira.

Attaway and Johnson are accused of conspiring to commit robberies on Feb. 8 and 9 at the following locations:

Marathon on North Broadway in Lebanon
Shell on Dixie Highway in Hamilton
Shell on Montgomery Road in Deerfield Twp.
Madeira Beverage on Kenwood Road in Madeira
Sunoco on Kenwood Road in Blue Ash

A man wearing black with a red mask robbed the Hamilton station at gunpoint about 8:35 p.m. Feb. 8. About 45 minutes later the same suspect, wearing the same clothing, robbed the Deerfield Twp. store, also with a gun.

The men are accused of robbing the Blue Ash and Lebanon stations Feb. 9, the same night Gupta was killed, according to the indictment.

Both men are housed in the Butler County Jail and scheduled to appear Sept. 8 in a Cincinnati federal courtroom.

Any local charges against Attaway and Johnson in connection to the incidents will be superseded by the federal indictment and the cases will be prosecuted federally, according to the DOJ.