A Schuylkill County judge has denied a Coaldale man's request for reduced bail.

Judge James Goodman on Nov. 6 denied the request by Joseph Becker, 33, of Coaldale. Becker's bail stands at $25,000 cash.State police at Frackville and borough police charged Becker with two felony counts each of robbery with threat of injury, theft, simple assault, reckless endangering another person, harassment and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon after an incident on Sept. 15.Police said they were contacted by two men who said they had been robbed and threatened by Becker. According to the victims, they were in a vehicle driving east on High Street at 5:50 p.m. As they stopped for the stop sign at the intersection with Second Street Becker approached the car, leaned in the window and punched the driver, several times, in the face. Becker then pulled out a pocketknife, extended the 3- to 4-inch blade, and held it against the driver's throat, demanding cash that was in the center console.As Becker leaned further into the car trying to get the cash, the passenger grabbed the money. Becker then put the knife to the second victim's throat.The victim dropped the cash, which Becker grabbed before fleeing toward his home.In another case, Goodman granted reduced bail for a Barnesville man charged with breaking into a New Castle Township gas station in September.Goodman reduced Richard Pizzo's bail from $50,000 cash to $5,000 percentage cash. That means he had to post $500 cash to gain his freedom, which he did on Nov. 9.Goodman lowered Pizzo's bail under the condition that he live at 23 Circle Drive, Barnesville, and not move from there without written permission from the district attorney and the clerk of courts.State police at Frackville charged Pizzo, 32, with burglary, theft, retail theft and criminal mischief in connection with a break-in at the Gasway Gas Station, located off Route 61 in New Castle Township, just north of Saint Clair.Troopers said Pizzo entered the gas station at 4:10 a.m. Sept. 11. The entire incident was captured on the station security surveillance camera.According to troopers, Pizzo used a concrete-filled pipe to smash the glass entry door, then crawled through the opening created in the smashed glass. The alarm sounded when the glass was broken, but Pizzo still entered and collected items from the store, including 15 packs of cigarettes and a cellphone.Troopers said Pizza caused $475.94 in damages to the gas station. The cellphone was valued at $300, and the total loss of cigarettes was $84.25.As he was taking the items, a newspaper delivery van arrived with morning papers. Pizzo attempted to hide from the van operator by opening a door from inside the store that led to a garage portion of the building.After the van left, Pizzo returned to the main store and left the building through the hole in the glass door. Troopers said he dropped two baseball caps he had stolen earlier from the Walmart store in Saint Clair. They said he also left drops of blood from a cut he received when he broke the glass door. The blood drops were collected for future DNA analysis.After viewing the surveillance videos from Gasway and Walmart, troopers and Saint Clair police determined the same person was involved in both theft incidents.