Hartwick Family Held on $100,000 Bond for Armed Robbery

A mother, father and son were arrested yesterday by Otsego County Sheriff’s Office investigators at the Daytona County Correctional Facility in Daytona Beach, Florida.

Christine, Kaine, and Timothy Lord are accused of acting in concert with each other to commit an armed robbery of the Pit Stop convenience store on State Route 28 in the Town of Hartwick last December 23rd.

At around 9:30 that evening, law enforcement responded to the 911 call of an armed robbery that had just occurred. The convenience store clerk told responding officers that he had been robbed at gunpoint by two masked men who stole money and then fled the scene.

Sheriff’s investigators developed the Lord family as suspects, determining they had fled New York state to Deltona, Florida in early February. Investigators contacted the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office, a search warrant was obtained, then executed at the Lord’s Deltona residence on May 8th. A searched of the residence is said to have unearthed evidence relating to the Pit Stop armed robbery. An arrest warrant for robbery was obtained, then Volusia County authorities arrested the Lords as fugitives from justice. They were held in the Volusia County Jail pending their return to Otsego County.

On May 13th Otsego Sheriff’s investigators obtained a search warrant for the Lord family's former residence in the Town of Hartwick. The search warrant was executed on May 14th and evidence was seized that is thought to relate to the robbery.

Yesterday, May 28th, Otsego County Sheriff’s Office arrested the Lords in Florida on the above charges and returned them back to New York state. They were arraigned, then remanded to the Otsego County Correctional Facility on $100,000 bail. They will return to court next week.

If convicted, the Lords face up to 25 years in prison on the felony charges. Otsego County District Attorney John M. Muehl will prosecute the case.

The following agencies also assisted the Otsego Sheriff’s Office with the investigation: Otsego County District Attorney’s Office; Cooperstown Police Department; New York State Police at Richfield Springs; New York State Police Troop C Forensic Investigation Unit; Otsego County District Attorney’s Office Special Investigations Unit; FBI Albany and investigators from the Office of State Attorney, 7th Circuit of Florida.