Armed robberies at Phoenix grocery stores shake up employees
Dec 19, 2022, 1:00 PM
(Pixabay Photo)
(Pixabay Photo)
This article originally appeared March 2, 2020.
Only a couple of weeks and a few blocks separate these two armed robberies.
The first was early Jan. 31, 2020 at the Sprouts at 48th Street and Ray Road in the Ahwatukee area of Phoenix. The grocery store had just opened when trouble walked in.
“He’s got a hoodie on, dark clothing, a ski mask,” Police Sgt. Jamie Rothschild said. “But it’s what he did once he got in there that makes us want to catch him.”
He was pretty aggressive from the moment he entered the store.
“He pushed an employee, he had his gun out, then he went into the back room where he had an employee at gunpoint and made them hand over the cash,” Rothschild said.
The guy got away in what witnesses described as a boxy SUV with a luggage rack.
We head to the Safeway at 40th Street and Chandler Boulevard in Phoenix on Feb. 18, 2020, just after 8:30 p.m. A gunman in dark clothing entered the store.
“He took that gun out and he pointed it at the employees,” Rothschild said.
“While he did that, there were customers inside the store.”
This suspect also entered the office and demanded cash. Then he took the money and ran.
These suspects have similar methods and even dressed alike. But are they the same person?
Rothschild said, “Even though the clothing descriptions and what the suspects did during these robberies is similar, we don’t have enough to say it’s related.
“If we could get information on who these suspects are or even if they’re related that would help us.”
