Phoenix police looking for multiple suspects who stole lottery tickets

It’s baffling. Why would you steal lottery tickets from a convenience store when the cash register is right there?

“What’s the lure of these tickets that someone would threaten or even use violence to get them?” asks Phoenix Police Sgt. Jamie Rothschild.

It’s been happening across Phoenix.

“These happened at several different locations and these are not the same suspects,” says Sgt. Rothschild. “But what they probably didn’t realize is these can get quickly canceled and now we have surveillance photos and videos of these crimes when they’re occurring.”

In a couple of the robberies, the suspects simulated a weapon to steal the tickets.  In another, one suspect actually points a gun at a terrified employee. In the third case, two men distract the clerk while the other two boldly reach over the counter and help themselves to the tickets.

In that one, they hit the employee before fleeing in an older beige Honda Accord.

Once again, except for the lottery tickets, these all appear to be unrelated.

“There’s no common denominator here,” says Sgt. Rothschild. “Our suspects are different ages and races. We have both male and female.”

Learn more about the cases here, here and here.

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