He’s facing a possible 166 years in prison if he’s convicted of all of the charges, said Clark County Prosecutor Andy Wilson.
Hand is currently booked in the Clark County jail on a $100,000 bond. He was arrested by Springfield police March 23 — charged with attempted robbery, according to a Springfield Police Division report, after he tried to hold up John’s Drive-Thru, 826 W. Main St., but was shot at by the clerk.
He pleaded not guilty in municipal court in that case and remains in jail.
On Monday investigators took their case to a Clark County grand jury, which approved charges in that robbery and several others.
Hand is scheduled to appear in a Clark County Common Pleas courtroom Thursday afternoon to be arraigned on the new charges.
Michael Turner owns Nifty Fifties bar, 365 Ludlow Ave., where police said Hand robbed a bartender at gunpoint on March 16.
“I’m glad they put him in jail, I’m glad he’s where he’s at because my main concern was that gun — a gun on the streets not a good thing,” Turner said.
The city is lucky Hand was caught before anyone was hurt, he said.
Hand allegedly used a gun in 11 of the 13 business crimes he committed, according to court documents.
The suspect allegedly broke into or robbed a variety of businesses across the city, including drive-thrus, bars, a nail salon and restaurants like Burger King and Long John Silvers, Wilson said.
“I knew this guy was going to do more than one bar,” Turner said. “He just got greedy and he got caught.”
Business owners like Turner, who had hundreds of dollars stolen in the crime, are glad a suspect is behind bars. But the bar owner said he fears drugs are behind these crimes and other thieves are out there still.
“I really believe that 95 percent of (crime) is drug-related activity because they’re going to find a way to do those drugs,” Turner said.
Turner installed new security cameras in his bar after the robbery and updated his alarm system, but said the community needs to keep an eye out for crime and report problems to the police if they see it.
“Watch and be aware of what’s going on around us, and you’ll get (the criminals),” he said.
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