Scotia man arrested in gas station robbery, chase

PHOTOGRAPHER: Peter R. Barber

The Mobil gas station on Broadway near Interstate 890 in Schenectady.

SCHENECTADY — A man was arrested Thursday after an armed robbery and a brief chase along the state Thruway, according to Schenectady police.

Police were called to the Mobil gas station at 585 Broadway shortly after 10 a.m. for a robbery that had just occurred, police said.

The suspect — later identified the suspect as Aleksandr Babilenko, 30, of Scotia — threatened the clerk with a handgun and demanded money, police said. He was described as a white man wearing a mask, with a black hooded sweatshirt and gray pants. The clerk’s 7-year-old child was also present, police said. No one was hurt.

Babilenko was seen leaving the Mobil station in a red Nissan, a vehicle that was reported stolen in the village of Scotia, police said.

Police soon located the vehicle heading west on Interstate 890. They followed the vehicle out of the city limits and, with the help of state police, pulled the driver over near Exit 25, police said.

Police said they found Babilenko in possession of just under $450 in cash and an imitation handgun.

He faces one count each of second-degree robbery and fourth-degree criminal possession of stolen property, both felonies, along with misdemeanor menacing and endangering the welfare of a child.

Babilenko was being held Thursday evening for arraignment.