Two armed robberies in the Heights and Hillcrest neighborhoods in Little Rock on Saturday coupled with recent holdups at grocery stores and a coffee shop mean the areas are likely a new "hot spot" for police, according to Little Rock police spokesman Richard Hilgeman.
These latest robberies, the s̶i̶x̶t̶h̶ ̶a̶n̶d̶ ̶s̶e̶v̶e̶n̶t̶h seventh and eighth* reported in the two neighborhoods in a little more than a month, could be linked based on a similar description of the assailant, said Hilgeman, adding detectives have not reviewed the cases yet.
In the first instance Saturday, a 55-year-old man told police he was unloading a U-Haul outside his home in the 1100 block of Kavanaugh Boulevard in Hillcrest about 4:50 p.m., according to a police report. A man approached him and pulled out a black semi-automatic handgun with a gold handle, saying, "Give me the money," the victim told police.
The 55-year-old said he handed over $23, and the robber responded, "Get in the house! I know you got more than that," the report said.
[MAP: See where robberies reported in Heights, Hillcrest neighborhoods in last month]
The victim entered his home and instructed his family to come out slowly, according to the report. His wife offered the robber the small amount of cash she had on her, at which point he ran from the home.
Officers searched the area but could not find the robber, described on the report as a male of unknown race who is about 5 feet, 8 inches tall and weighs 180 pounds.
Another Little Rock resident told police he was robbed after eating at a restaurant in the Heights on Saturday night by a man of unknown race who stands about 5 feet, 9 inches tall and weighs 180 pounds.
The 38-year-old victim was walking to his vehicle, parked in the 1800 block of North Pierce Street, about 9:30 p.m. when he was approached by a man who asked to use a lighter, he told police.
After a brief conversation, the robber pulled a gun from his waistband and demanded money, according to the report. He gave the assailant roughly $20, and the man left.
No arrests have been made in either robbery as of Monday morning, Hilgeman said.
These robberies join a string of armed altercations in the Hillcrest and Heights neighborhoods over the past several weeks, which seems unusual for the areas, he said.
Two women were robbed by two men outside of a house in the 300 block of Beechwood Street on Oct. 29, Arkansas Online previously reported. Police said the same crew likely stole a woman's backpack about a half hour later in the parking lot of the Kroger at 614 Beechwood St.
Both robberies were similar in nature, department spokesman Lt. Steve McClanahan previously said, noting sometimes a group will "get comfortable" robbing people in the same area.
Two days before those robberies, a deliveryman's tablet was stolen from him at the same Kroger, Arkansas Online reported. On Oct. 11, there was a holdup outside River City Coffee, located at 2913 Kavanaugh Blvd. in Hillcrest, and three women were robbed outside the Heights Kroger at 1900 N. Polk St.
Hilgeman said when there are a handful of incidents in the same location over a short time period, that area is considered a "hot spot" and police adjust accordingly. More officers will likely be patrolling the neighborhoods, he said.
Though the robbery trend seems abnormal, "anytime something happens in the Heights, it tends to get a little more attention" than elsewhere in the city, Hilgeman said.
Metro on 11/15/2016
*CORRECTION: A story in Tuesday's edition about robberies in Little Rock's Heights and Hillcrest neighborhoods omitted details about a Nov. 9 armed carjacking on Hill Road. There have been at least 8 armed robberies in the neighborhoods since Oct. 11.