RICHMOND, Va. -- Police in Richmond and Chesterfield County said they are investigating the possibility that a recent spate of robberies at knife point are connected.
The first happened around 10:31 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 5 at the Trolley Market in the 1600 block of West Main Street. Richmond Police said a victim told officers that an unknown male entered the store, displayed a knife, and demanded money.
Witness: 'He put a knife to her neck'
A victim in the Trolley Market robbery reached out to CBS 6 after she heard about a similar robbery in Chesterfield County.
"He came through like this," recounted Heather, who did not want to give her last name. "Came straight through like this... just bolted."
Heather said she and her friend were alone in the store when a man came bursting through the back and ran up behind her friend.
"He grabbed her. He put a knife to her neck, to her throat, and he demanded all the money," she said.
Heather said she told the robber to relax.
Trolley Market knife-point robbery victim
"He let go of her shoulders and she was able to kind of corkscrew away from him," she recalled.
Heather said she then opened the till, handed over the money, and then the robber ran off.
"He grabbed this display and he threw it over right here and he just bolted out the back door," she said pointing to a rack.
Heather said after hearing about similar knife robberies, she thinks it is the same person.
"My heart goes out to them. This has been very traumatic,” Heather said. “You never think that something like this is going to happen to you"
Heather said she starts counseling next week to help with her post-traumatic stress.
"I have not really been able to leave the house," she added.
Suspect in BP gas station robbery
Additional knife-point robberies
The second happened around 9:15 p.m. on Monday, Jan. 7 at the BP gas station in the 13000 block of Genito Road. Chesterfield County Police said a man entered the store, armed with a knife, and demanded money. The clerk fled and the suspect took money from the register before fleeing, possibly in a vehicle.
Police released a photo of the suspect in this case and described him as “a white male wearing blue jeans, a black hooded jacket with a white interior, running shoes and a mask over his face.”
Spencer’s convenience store
The third case happened around 9:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 8 at the Spencer’s convenience store in the 4000 block of Kingsland Road. Chesterfield County Police said a suspect, armed with a knife, entered the store, jumped the counter, took money from the cash register then fled.
Police described the suspect in this case “as a male, between 5 feet 6 inches and 5 feet 9 inches tall with a small build. He was wearing two jackets; the outer jacket, which was black and had a hood, was unzipped, and the second jacket was black and zipped up. He was wearing a hood and the lower half of his face was covered. He was wearing dark blue jeans and black Asics tennis shoes with a white logo on the bottom of the shoes.”
Fas Mart
The fourth case happened around 11:57 p.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 9 at the Fas Mart in the 1200 block of Westover Hills Boulevard. Richmond Police said an unknown man entered the store, approached the clerk with a knife, demanded then stole money from the register, and then fled.
Anyone with information about the Richmond cases is asked to call Third Precinct Detective A. Davila at 804-646-1069. Anyone with information about the Chesterfield County cases is asked to call the Chesterfield County Police Department at 804-748-1251 or Crime Solvers at 804-748-0660 or through the P3 app.
