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The average price of gasoline price in Massachusetts have dropped to $3.31 a gallon, down 5 cents a gallon from last week.
It's also 15 cents a gallon lower than last week and 23 cents a gallon lower than a year ago, on December 12, 2022, according to AAA.
A previously convicted felon has pleaded guilty in connection with the armed robberies of convenience stores in Boston and Brockton in March.
Fernando Bost, a 32-year-old resident of Boston, admitted guilt in two federal criminal charges of Hobbs Act robbery and one charge of being a felon in possession of a firearm.
U.S. District Court Judge Allison D. Burroughs has set the sentencing date for March 7, 2024, according to a press release from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Massachusetts.
On March 29, 2023, at around 11:05 p.m., a person entered the RJ Smoke and Convenience Store in the Dorchester neighborhood of Boston, held the cashier at gunpoint, seized cash, and fled the store.
Around the same time, police learned that a 7-Eleven in Brockton had been robbed approximately 40 minutes before that. Surveillance footage revealed the robber wearing distinctive clothing identical to that worn in the RJ Smoke and Convenience store robbery, according to prosecutors.
A subsequent inquiry pinpointed a Kia Sorento present near both businesses before and after the respective robberies. Records indicated that Bost's girlfriend had rented the vehicle during the time of the incidents. Further investigation revealed the use of Bost's EBT card at a gas station and Target on the same day as the robberies. Surveillance footage from these locations depicted Bost wearing clothing matching that of the robber, prosecutors said.
Bost was arrested during a traffic stop near Springfield, with a loaded Glock 43x with a high-capacity magazine concealed in his sweatshirt, according to prosecutors.
Because of his prior armed robbery convictions in 2012 and 2017, Bost is legally prohibited from possessing firearms and ammunition. At the time of the offense, Bost faced several pending charges for armed and unarmed robbery, along with three outstanding warrants issued from three courts for armed robbery, assault with a dangerous weapon, breaking and entering daytime for a felony, receiving stolen property, and shoplifting, according to prosecutors.