String of armed robberies in Belleville and its outskirts could be related
Three armed robberies in Belleville last week could be connected to two earlier robberies in unincorporated Belleville, law enforcement agencies say.
The Belleville Police Department and the St. Clair County Sheriff’s Department are coordinating investigations to determine if the crimes are related, a news release from Belleville police said. Capt. Mark Heffernan said that though there are similarities, police cannot say definitively if they are linked by the same suspect.
In each of the robberies, the suspect is described as a masked white man with average height and build, who displayed a handgun to employees. No one was injured in any of the following robberies.
Surveillance images from the crimes are not being released due to the “sensitive nature” of the crimes and Heffernan said they may be released in the future as the investigation progresses.
The St. Clair County Sheriff’s Department released a photo on Nov. 19 of the Dollar General store armed robbery.
Family Dollar, Nov. 30
The most recent of the armed robberies happened just before 9 p.m. at the Family Dollar store at 6401 West Main Street Saturday. The suspect, wearing a dark sweatshirt, displayed a handgun at the clerk and demanded money.
According to police, the man fled the store westbound. Though an extensive search for the suspect was conducted, police could not locate him.
ZX, Nov. 28
On Thanksgiving Day, at 9:20 p.m., police responded to a report of an armed robbery at the ZX gas station at 7406 West Main Street. In that case, the suspect wore blue jeans and a gray hooded sweatshirt.
Police said that the man displayed a handgun at the clerk and demanded money before fleeing southwest from the store. Detectives and crime scene investigators collected evidence at the scene.
Farm Fresh, Nov. 24
On Nov. 24, police responded to a report of an armed robbery at the Farm Fresh store located at 1805 North Belt West. The suspect wore dark clothing.
During the armed robbery, the suspect displayed a handgun at the clerk and fled the store eastbound with an undetermined amount of cash. Though an extensive search was conducted, police could not find the suspect. Crime scene investigators collected evidence from the scene.
Dollar General, Nov. 17
On Nov. 17, St. Clair County Sheriff’s deputies responded to the Dollar General store at 1207 Centreville Ave. at 10 p.m. for reports of an armed robbery. The suspect pointed a handgun at two employees of the store and fled southbound with an entire cash drawer.
The robber wore a dark jacket, black mask, blue jeans and gloves.
Food Mart, Nov. 4
On Nov. 4, an armed robber targeted the Belleville Food Mart at 1424 Centreville Ave at 10:25 p.m. The suspect, wearing a dark gray hooded sweatshirt, black mask and blue jeans, was described as a 5-10 to 6-feet tall white man with a slim build, according to the clerk. He was also holding a gray plastic grocery bag.
In that robbery, the suspect left southbound with an undetermined amount of cash, deputies said. Though deputies and Belleville police searched the area for the suspect, they could not locate him.
Belleville police did not release any information about any of the three robberies within its jurisdiction before issuing a press release Monday afternoon. Multiple attempts to confirm the Thanksgiving night robbery of the ZX were unanswered last Friday and over the weekend.
As of Monday afternoon at 5 p.m., a Calls for Service log on the department’s website hadn’t been updated since Nov. 8.
Anyone with information regarding the Belleville robberies can contact the Belleville Police Department at 618-234-1212 or submit tips anonymously via Crimestoppers at 1-866-371-8477.
Those with information regarding the robberies in unincorporated Belleville can contact the St. Clair County Sheriff’s Department at 618-825-5204.
This story was originally published December 3, 2019 at 5:00 AM.
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