Crime & Safety

Police Investigating Whether String of Armed Robberies are Linked

Weekend incidents stretch from Bel Air to Glen Burnie.

Police in Baltimore, Harford and Anne Arundel counties are investigating whether a string of armed robberies over the weekend are connected.

A male suspect entered a 7-Eleven store in the 200 block of Back River Neck Road in Essex at about 2:10 a.m., Sunday, and held up the store at gunpoint, according to police reports. The robber ordered a customer out and robbed the clerk before escaping with about $115, two packs of cigarettes and a cigar.

Then, about 40 minutes later, Baltimore County police responded to the unit block of Baltimore Avenue in Dundalk for a reported armed robbery at a Royal Farms store.

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A man matching the description of the robber in the Essex and Dundalk holdups is being sought in the robberies of two 7-Eleven stores on Sunday in Glen Burnie, located in the 1600 block of Furnace Branch Road West and the 7300 block of Furnace Branch Road East, respectively.

Police also are investigating whether the same suspect is responsible for . In one, a man fled a High's near the Festival shopping center with no cash or items after an employee activated the store alarm. About 20 minutes later, an unidentified male gas station employee was shot in the chest at the Bel Air  at the intersection of West MacPhail Road and Maryland Route 24.

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“We are in constant contact with surrounding jurisdictions and investigating whether all of these cases are related,” Baltimore County police spokesman Det. Cathy Batton said. “Right now, we have not determined whether that is the case, but are continuing to explore all possible leads.”

Bel Air Chief of Police Leo Matrangola told Patch he believes the suspect in the Exxon shooting is the same man who attempted an armed robbery at the Bel Air South Parkway High's at about 10:15 p.m Saturday. That convenience store is a little more than two miles north of the Exxon.

In each robbery, the suspect was described as a man wearing dark-colored clothing and a ski mask while brandishing a black handgun.


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