Convenience stores robbed in North Franklin, Washington
Police are seeking a male suspect in the robbery at the former Valero store in North Franklin Township.
The 7-Eleven store on West Chestnut Street in Washington was robbed Wednesday night.
Two convenience stores on West Chestnut Street, one in North Franklin Township and the other in Washington, were robbed within about five minutes of each other Wednesday night.
A man claiming to have a gun walked into the Sunshine Food Mart, formerly Valero, at West Chestnut and Franklin Farms Road, about 9:55 p.m., North Franklin police said. He demanded cash but made off with only several packs of Newport cigarettes.
A woman wielding a knife entered the 7-Eleven, 375 W. Chestnut St., at 9:59 p.m., and demanded cash and a carton of Newports, Washington police said. She tied up the clerk with duct tape before making off with cash but leaving behind the cigarettes and knife.
The clerk at the food mart told North Franklin Officer Rodney Bush the man came into the store and walked around before coming up to the counter, demanding all the money and indicating he had a gun. She told him she could not open the register.
When she tried to go to a storage room, the man reportedly grabbed her and again demanded money. She again told him she could not open the register. The robber reportedly reached over and hit the buttons on the register, again demanding money.
He then grabbed five packs of cigarettes as a woman came into the store. The clerk then grabbed a baseball bat as the man ran across West Chestnut, behind the Red Roof Inn and through an opening in a fence. Bush said North Franklin and state police and Washington County sheriff’s deputies searched the area, but could not locate the suspect.
The clerk at the 7-Eleven told city police the woman milled about the store and then went up to the counter with a can of iced tea. After paying for it, she reportedly pulled out a knife, put it on the counter and demanded all the cash and a carton of cigarettes. She then ordered the clerk to lie on the floor behind the counter. The woman tied the clerk’s hands and fled, leaving behind the knife and cigarettes. Washington police Detective Dan Rush said the clerk was able to free herself and call police.
The North Franklin robber was white, in his early 20s with brown, shaggy hair. He wore a blue shirt, dark, baggy jeans and a black hat. The woman who robbed the Washington store was white, about 5 feet tall, with a medium build and wearing glasses. She was dressed in black and wore an orange cap and pink and white Nike Air Max tennis shoes.
Anyone with information about either robbery is asked to call 911.