Police: Serial robber has hit 14 businesses

Since mid-August, police say, an armed robber has targeted a string of convenience stores, bars, and other businesses in Northeast Philadelphia - 14 stickups in just under two months.

The heists are strikingly similar, police say. In almost every one, a man walks into a store, brandishes a silver semiautomatic handgun, demands money, and quickly leaves with the cash.

In the beginning, he covered his face with a bandanna, but he recently switched to a black, hooded floor-length cloak - a "Grim Reaper robe," Lt. Dennis Rosenbaum of Northeast Detectives called it - and a black scarf covering his face.

And, Rosenbaum says, the robberies have ramped up. He's now averaging one every four days. The most recent was Friday morning, police said.

The first incident occurred on Aug. 16, when a man with a bandanna over his face walked into the Beer Box, a beer distributor at 3350 Grant Ave., pulled a gun, and fled with $1,500 in cash.

Since then, police say, he has robbed another beer distributor, three pizza restaurants (including a Pizza Hut), a Red Robin restaurant, five 7-Elevens, two bars, and a Wawa.

"He seems to be working his way down the Frankford Avenue corridor," Rosenbaum said.

Because many stores avoid keeping too much cash in their register, police said, the robber sometimes makes off with only a few hundred dollars - once with just $162.

His biggest haul, police said, came from a beer distributor on Frankford Avenue on Aug. 23. There, an employee was forced at gunpoint to hand over $2,800 in cash and 18 cartons of cigarettes, police said.

In total, more than $9,000 has been taken in the 14 robberies.

"He's fast - only in the store a minute," Rosenbaum said. At least once, the suspect racked the slide on his gun when a victim wasn't moving quickly enough.

Investigators believe the man may target stores without customers inside to avoid a large-scale confrontation. All of the robberies have taken place between 8 p.m. and 4 a.m., Rosenbaum said.

Rosenbaum said police are not sure what has motivated the series of robberies, and added that the man has worked with an accomplice during two of them.

Investigators also suspect the man may sometimes flee in a car, he said.

Rosenbaum said video footage has helped police link the robberies - the man was caught on camera in all but three, and displayed similar mannerisms in each.

He has been described by police as white or Hispanic, approximately six feet tall, 25 to 30 years old. He may have a light-colored mustache, Rosenbaum said.

Anyone with any information on the incidents is asked to call Northeast Detectives at 215-686-3153, or 911.

215-854-2961 @aubreyjwhelan