Police searching for suspect in spree of robberies at Long Island gas stations
JERICHO (WABC) -- Police are looking for the suspect behind a string of robberies and at least one murder at gas stations and convenience stores on Long Island.
In each of the robberies, investigators say the suspect shows a handgun and demands money before fleeing on foot.
There have been at least nine robberies since Dec. 20th in Jericho, Hicksville and Westbury, with several of the stations hit twice.
"Well I'm worried about somebody getting hurt, I don't want anybody to get hurt," said gas station owner Andy Harris.
And thankfully they weren't hurt in an armed robbery at his Shell station in Jericho over the weekend. It was broad daylight on Sunday.
Surveillance video shows the suspect forcing the clerk behind the counter to the cash register. The clerk's hands are up the whole time. He then asks for the big bills of money, the clerk doing everything possible to accommodate him because the suspect has a gun.
The same was true at a Mobil station in Westbury, the suspect forcing the clerk to empty the register. He throws the cash into a bag and gets away, part of a pattern, police say.
"The M.O. is a man with a gun, covered in black gloves, black mask, all black clothing. The only thing of any color is his sneaker laces which are red," said Nassau County Police Acting Commissioner Thomas Krumpter.
There are several other surveillance shots of the suspect but you can never see his face. What's most troubling, police say, is not the robberies but a murder in Jericho at a BP station, which also fits the pattern. The attendant, Hany Awad, was shot and killed back in January.
"And that raises the stakes and makes it very concerning to this department, and we are aggressively investigating this case," said Krumpter.
Meanwhile cops say two other BP stations in Thomaston and New Hyde Park were robbed at gunpoint by another man, in a completely different pattern, as gas station employees just try to stay safe.
"The money is not worth your life, so it's always been, give up whatever they need," said Harris.
The suspect in the spree of at least nine robberies is described as a man 20-25 years old, thin build, wearing all black Nike clothing, black mask, black gloves, black Nike sneakers with red laces, armed with a black silver revolver.
Anyone with information is asked to contact the Nassau County Police Department Robbery Squad at 516-573-8040 or Crime Stoppers at the toll free hotline: 1-800-244-TIPS (8477).
Crime Stoppers is offering up to a $10,000 reward for the arrest of the suspect.
In the Thomaston and New Hyde Park robberies, the suspect is described as a man with stocky build, approximately 5'8" tall, wearing a black hooded sweatshirt and armed with a handgun.
