7 store heists in Little Rock tied to same robber

Police trying to identify perpetrator

Little Rock police are trying to identify the perpetrator of at least seven armed robberies over the past month.

Authorities on Friday said the man is connected to a string of seven business robberies since Dec. 10.

"We are trying to get him identified," Little Rock police spokesman Lt. Michael Ford said.

The department on Friday posted a video to its Twitter page that described the man as a "serial aggravated robbery suspect" and showed surveillance video of the robber pulling a handgun at a store.

Three of the seven robberies occurred at businesses on University Avenue that were located within about a mile and a half of one another.

Preliminary police data show a significant drop in Little Rock robberies in 2017, despite increases in homicides, rapes and aggravated assaults compared to 2016 figures.

The preliminary data show a 25 percent decrease in total robberies last year, compared with the 2016 total. The preliminary 2017 figure of 497 is the lowest number of robberies the city has seen in at least a decade, according to department data.

The first of the seven connected robberies happened late on the night of Dec. 10 at Joseph's Discount Store at 1624 S. University Ave.

Then on Dec. 13, the same person robbed a gas station on Geyer Springs Road in southwest Little Rock, police said.

Employees said a man entered the business, pointed a handgun at them and racked the gun's slide, according to a police report.

The man took money from the business then left on foot, the report said.

Police said three of the connected robberies occurred from Dec. 22 through Dec. 28, including the robbery of a CVS Pharmacy and a Subway restaurant across the street from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock.

The latest of the seven connected robberies occurred Tuesday night, authorities said. Officers were called at 8:07 p.m. to a gas station at 3723 Cantrell Road for a report of a robbery, according to a police report.

Employee Eric Roller told police the man entered the store and asked to get a lighter. Roller said he handed the man a lighter, and the man gave him a $10 bill in return, according to the report.

Roller reported that when he opened the cash register, the man pulled a black handgun and pointed it at him. Roller said he started to get the money, but the robber instead leaned over the counter and began to grab the money himself, according to the report.

Police said security video showed the gunman entering the store about an hour before the robbery. He walked around, grabbed a fountain drink cup and asked an employee something, authorities said.

The report said the man appeared to go to his vehicle and stay there for an hour before going back inside and pulling out a gun.

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Metro on 01/06/2018

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