March 29, 2024
BANGOR DAILY NEWS (BANGOR, MAINE

Police intensify probe of robbery in Glenburn > Authorities explore possible links to Hampden holdup

Bangor-area police intensified their investigation Wednesday into the armed robbery of a Glenburn convenience store Tuesday that may be connected to another recent robbery in the area.

Late Tuesday night, two masked men entered the Checkout Convenience Store on the Pushaw Road. One man brandished a gun, firing a shot toward the checkout counter, apparently to intimidate the two clerks working.

State Trooper Dan Ryan said the two men got away with an estimated $1,300, taken from the cash register and a safe, which one of the clerks was made to open.

There were two clerks inside when the robbers entered the store, about 9:30 p.m., a half an hour before the store closes. The clerks were not hurt, Ryan said.

The investigation is being considered a top priority, the trooper said, and on-duty troopers are being brought in to assist when they are available.

A videotape of the robbery, taken by a store security camera, shows a man with nylon over his face jumping over the counter. The other man is standing back, unseen, but holding a small-caliber gun, according to Ryan.

The robber, apparently unable to open the cash register, forces a male clerk — his hands partway in the air — to open it for him.

Both robbers were described as being between 5 feet 6 inches to 5 feet 10 inches tall and weighing about 175 pounds. Nylon covered their faces and hair and they wore gloves and what appeared to be several layers of clothing.

With so little to go on, investigators have a large pool of potential suspects.

“Right now, we’re looking at as many people as possible,” said Ryan.

Wednesday afternoon, Ryan met with law enforcment officers from the U.S. Attorney’s Violent Crimes Task Force to discuss avenues of investigation and what ties this robbery has, if any, to a convenience store robbery in Hampden on Saturday.

Among the names that came up was a man with an extensive criminal record whom police later arrested on several unrelated warrants. Ryan said police were trying to match a pullover he was wearing to a garment worn by one of the robbers, but it appeared he, too, may be ruled out.

“We still have a large pool of suspects,” Ryan said shortly before midnight Wednesday.

As part of their investigation, the state police have been in contact with police in Hampden, where on Saturday two men — one with a handgun — went into the Crossroads Market and demanded cash from the clerk.

Hampden Police Chief Joe Rogers said that although the two robberies have many similarities, it still wasn’t known whether the robbers were the same.

In light of the robberies, area police officials offered suggestions Wednesday on how businesses can help avert a robbery or reduce injuries to customers or employees during a robbery, while at the same time helping to preserve the crime scene for investigators.

People shouldn’t hesitate to call police if they see something suspicious or out of the ordinary, Rogers said. Maybe it’s a car or truck that has been in the area more than is normal, or a customer who isn’t familiar to the clerk. Rogers also said a robber may check out a store before the planned robbery to get an idea of the layout of the business.

Familiarity with layout and closing hours appears to be the case in an Oct. 30 incident, where a man dressed in a Halloween alien mask robbed a Brewer cigarette store clerk at gunpoint. He entered the store just before closing, when the clerk would have been preparing to shut down the register and the store for the evening.

There were no customers in the store and the man was familiar enough with the store to avoid the security equipment, police reported.

The store employee wasn’t assaulted during the robbery, which appears to be the case in many of the robberies that have occurred in the area this year, although in mid-July, a clerk was beaten with a wooden stick during a botched robbery attempt at a Bangor convenience store.

During a robbery, police officials said, employees should comply with demands and should not resist or fight back.

“Money can be replaced, goods can be replaced, lives can’t,” said Hampden police Sgt. Dan Stewart.

During a robbery, people can best serve police by being observant.

Rogers said employees can help police by remembering anything about the robber. Something as simple as whether the person was left- or right-handed, or physical features, tattoos or scars can prove important in police identifying the culprits, Rogers said.

A description of a getaway vehicle, if any, and the direction of travel is important, but police warned that people following too closely behind the robbers could be putting themselves in harm’s way.

Brewer police Detective Cpl. Chris Greeley said that once the robbers have left, employees should lock the door to prevent the robber from returning and to keep customers from entering and disturbing the scene.

Police should be contacted and any injuries to anyone inside should be attended to as best as possible, he said.

Preserving evidence is also important. Greeley said anyone inside the business should avoid touching or disturbing anything the robber may have touched or left behind. He said, for example, an employee could use a piece of paper to cover fingers when locking the door to avoid marring any fingerprints left behind.


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