A second serial armed robber may have emerged in east Belleville and Swansea
Just as local law enforcement began to investigate possible connections between a series of armed robberies in west Belleville, they worked to locate a second suspect in a rash of similar crimes on the east side of town and Swansea.
On Monday, the Belleville Police and St. Clair County Sheriff’s departments announced they are coordinating their investigations into five armed robberies on the west end of town and in unincorporated areas since Nov. 17.
Then on Tuesday, the details of four additional robberies in east Belleville and Swansea were released along with the description of a second armed suspect.
“There is evidence in these cases to suggest that the same suspect committed (the two robberies in east Belleville) along with two robberies in Swansea,” said Belleville Police Capt. Mark Heffernan. “There is not, however, any evidence to suggest that these cases are related to recent business robberies in west Belleville.”
At 7:02 p.m. on Nov. 30, Belleville police responded to the Casey’s at 1706 Mascoutah Ave. on the report of an armed robbery.
Before they arrived, the suspect fled the business northbound on foot with an undetermined amount of cash. According to Belleville police, an extensive search was conducted but the suspect was not found.
Employees of the gas station described the suspect as a black male with a medium to heavy build, wearing a dark hooded sweatshirt, dark colored pants and dark colored shoes. They said he displayed a handgun and demanded money from the clerk.
Three more armed robberies were reported Monday night, each by a suspect of a similar description.
At 11:56 p.m., Belleville police responded to the ZX gas station at 420 Carlyle Ave. in reference to a series of 911 hang-up calls. When officers arrived, the clerk told them he had been robbed by a man who approached him and displayed a handgun before demanding money. The suspect fled westbound on foot, the employees told police, but officers could not locate the man.
Swansea police confirmed they responded later Monday night to robberies at a pair of gas stations near Illinois 159.
The first occurred at the ZX at 2400 N. Illinois St. at 11:30 p.m. and the second just a few minutes afterward at the Huck’s at 4590 N. Illinois St.
The suspect in both crimes was described as a “short” black male about 5-foot 5-inches tall. Employees at the ZX said he was wearing a black hooded coat with something over his face, black jeans and black gloves. At Huck’s, he was said to be wearing a handkerchief over his face, gray hooded sweatshirt and jeans.
In both robberies, police said the man pointed a semi-automatic type pistol at the clerk and demanded money.
“Because of money safety procedures the suspect obtained a very small amount of currency,” Swansea Police Chief Steve Johnson said.
Johnson released surveillance images of the Swansea robberies, and asked the public to pay attention to the suspect’s shoes, type of hoodie and handkerchief and his height.
“Someone knows who did this,” he said.
Heffernan said surveillance images were not available from the two Belleville robberies but that it will be released as the investigation progresses.
In the series of robberies in west Belleville, 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 nine robberies.
Anyone with information regarding the Belleville robberies can contact the Belleville Police Department at 618-234-1212 or leave an anonymous tip with Crimestoppers at 1-866-371-8477. For information regarding the Swansea robberies, anyone can call Det. Gary Reuter or Det. Jason Frank at 618-233-8114 or leave an anonymous tip at the same Crimestoppers hotline.
This story was originally published December 3, 2019 at 2:11 PM.
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