Maricopa robbery suspects handcuff clerk, escape with money

It’s something retail workers fear most — being robbed.

It was Saturday about 9 p.m. on Sept. 10, 2011. The Ace Hardware in Maricopa was just closing. Two suspicious characters, one wearing a baseball cap, the other wearing large sunglasses and a hoodie, approached the doors.

“They entered the store, handcuffed the employee and got the money,” Phoenix Police Sgt. Derek Elmore said.

The employee wasn’t hurt, but the experience could serve as a reminder to others: Go with your gut if you get a weird feeling about anyone approaching the store. Call 911 and get to a back room.

The suspects got away in an older silver or gray Honda CR-V.

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Our next case isn’t your typical graffiti vandalism. There could be a threat to police officers and firefighters.

The tagger is using bright red paint to write messages on a wall along Seventh Avenue south of Interstate 17. The first time it happened was the morning of Monday, June 16, 2014.

“The message was ‘Show no love. Love will get you killed,'” Elmore said. “Then it had a tag or hashtag that could be construed to be a threat to law enforcement.”

Then, a few weeks later, another message that said, “Mind your business if it ain’t your business” with the same hashtag.

Police are hoping since the crimes happened during morning rush hour that someone saw the vandal.

There’s actually a picture of a man posing next to one of the messages. It could be the suspect.

This article originally appeared July 28, 2014.