Suspects Sought In After Hours Robberies

Tuesday, August 28th 2007, 5:43 pm

By: News On 6

Two unusual robberies have Tulsa Police baffled. In both cases, the robber hid inside a store until after it closed, but the robberies do not seem to be connected. According to authorities the robberies were hours apart, three miles away from each other and the suspects were different races. Tulsa Police say they might see two of these after-hours robberies a year, so to have two in one night, is strange. News On 6 crime reporter Lori Fullbright reports one clerk says every time he thinks about that gun in his face it makes his hands shake all over again.

CJ's neighbors are glad he's okay after learning he was robbed while at work. He works at the Pyramid Grocery Store at 81st and Yale, they closed at midnight and CJ was stocking shelves when he realized, at 1:30 a.m., he and the man who clean up were not alone.

"I turn around there's a guy wearing all black, black mask on, with a pistol in one hand and a screwdriver in the other. It's pointed right at my face," said robbery victim CJ.

The man led CJ to the front of the store and made him lay on the floor while he went through the registers. CJ says it was probably only minutes, but felt like an eternity.

"I've always heard people in situations like this, their whole life flashes before their eyes. Everything I hadn't done flashed before mine," he said.

"Everything you hadn't done?" asked News On 6 crime reporter Lori Fullbright.

"Yeah, hadn't done, I'm not married, I don't have children. All that just hit me right in the face," CJ said.

Five hours earlier, and three miles away, police say another man was planning a similar robbery at a Dollar General store. He entered just before closing time, stayed hidden until after the doors were locked, then confronted one of two female employees.

"He brings his own bag, his own zip ties, own gloves, he's masked up and wearing a hat, so obviously concerned about hiding his identity,â€ said Tulsa Police Sergeant Dave Walker.

"He is masked up?" Fullbright asked.

"He is during the robbery, but wasn't when he entered the store, so there is a chance for us to identify him," Walker said.

The suspect tied up both the women, took money and tried to leave, but he couldn't figure out how to get out the locked store without some help from his victims.

There's no video from the 81st and Yale robbery and CJ could only see the guy's eyes, but says he could tell it was an African-American male. The suspect from the Dollar General is a white male and police hope someone recognizes him from the surveillance video.

Watch the video: Robbery Suspects Have Similar M.O.

WEB EXTRA: Surveillance Video From The Dollar General Robbery