Suspects rob man, force him to buy cigarettes

Police detectives are looking for two suspects in an armed robbery who forced a man to buy cigarettes and cigars for them at a gas station before they ran off with his cell phone.

About 1 a.m. Tuesday the suspects approached a man on Cedar Avenue near 47th Street in West Philadelphia, took his phone and then walked him to a nearby Sunoco station on Baltimore Avenue, police said.

The two forced the man to buy the smokes, then returned and had him withdraw an undisclosed amount of money from his account.

After that, police said, they walked him to 46th Street and told him to lie on the ground, then they ran from the area.

Police said one suspect is black, in his mid-20s and about 5-feet-10 and 160 pounds, with a sharp nose and an Afro. He was wearing a black polo shirt and dark blue jeans and was carrying a handgun, police said. The second suspect was described as in his early to mid-20s, about 6-feet-2 and about 200 pounds, with short hair and a round nose. He wore a black, hooded shirt and black pants with white stripes.

A surveillance camera recorded the men entering and leaving the Sunoco with the suspect twice, and police have posted it online.

Anyone with information on the suspects is encouraged to call the Philadelphia Police Southwest Detectives at 215-686-3183.