Police search for suspects in string of Greene County robberies
State police are looking for suspects in a string of robberies at convenience stores in Greene County.
Photo courtesy of Alma Gray
Photo courtesy of Alma Gray
A person robbed a Marathon gas station in Jefferson early Saturday morning after breaking the glass door with a rock.
A Marathon gas station and BFS store at 1496 Jefferson Road has been robbed five times since May, according to manager Alma Gray.
“We’re all petrified,” she said. “I wouldn’t blame my employees if they didn’t want to come into work.”
Gray’s 24-hour store in Jefferson Township was most recently robbed early Saturday morning. Gray said only one employee is typically at the store overnight, and since they’ve had so many recent robberies, they’ve been keeping the door locked.
According to a police report, the suspect tried the locked door first, then got a rock and tried to break the glass in it. When that didn’t work, he threw a rock at a window, breaking it, police said.
“The suspect entered the store through said window, falling in the process, approached the counter and forcibly removed the cash register drawer where it was connected at the counter,” the police report states.
Photo courtesy of Alma Gray
Photo courtesy of Alma Gray
An image pulled from a surveillance video shows the suspect in a May 28 robbery of a Marathon gas station in Jefferson. The store was robbed again early Saturday.
Police said the suspect then returned to the window, threw the register out of it, climbed out and fled about 3:15 a.m.
State police said they have similar robbery reports for the same location from Oct. 11 and Oct. 28. Police said the suspect in the Oct. 28 robbery was a white man in his mid-20s, about 5 feet, 5 inches tall and 120 pounds. During that incident, the suspect threw a cup with an unknown liquid at the clerk before taking the register and fleeing the scene just after 1 a.m., according to a police report.
The Sunoco/BFS store at 270 E. Roy Furman Highway in Franklin Township was robbed Thursday night and again Sunday night. According to a police report, the suspect in Thursday’s incident grabbed the register and fled the store with about $220 in cash. A manager at that location said both incidents happened about 11:30 p.m., and she suspects the same person committed both crimes. She said Thursday, the robber was holding a socket wrench handle but dropped it before he entered the store.
Gray said the suspect in a previous robbery at the Jefferson store threw a can of pepper juice at a clerk. During the May 28 robbery, the robber wielded a hammer. Gray said she suspects the same person has been committing the robberies, “maybe two people that take turns.” She believes state police have retrieved one of the registers and a sweatshirt belonging to the suspect.
Both stores have had to replace their registers multiple times in the last week, and the Jefferson store was installing outdoor security cameras Monday.
State police said if anyone has information regarding these robberies, they should call the Waynesburg barracks at 724-627-6151.