San Diego police are investigating a series of armed robberies at gas stations and convenient stores occurring over the past six weeks — and said the same people may be responsible for similar crimes in other cites and jurisdictions, as well.
A group of masked robbers — as many as five on at least one occasion — are believed to be responsible for at least 10 “takeover-style robberies” in the city of San Diego, police said Wednesday.
The robberies have occurred at convenience stores, typically in the late evening hours. Detailed descriptions of the robbers have not been released, although they have been seen wearing hooded sweatshirts and masks. They enter the stores in groups ranging from one to five and brandish firearms at the clerk, while demanding money and products.
In some cases, cash drawers and registers have been taken. No one has been injured.
“These crimes are extremely concerning because of the potential for violence and loss of life,” San Diego police Lt. Matthew Dobbs said in a statement. “Based on the suspect descriptions and actions, we believe at least ten of these robberies in the City of San Diego have been committed by the same group. We also believe this same suspect group are responsible for robberies in other jurisdictions.”
Overnight, sheriff’s deputies responded to six armed robberies at gas station convenience stores in Fallbrook, San Marcos, Santee, Lakeside and Spring Valley between 9:45 p.m. and 1 a.m. Detectives are looking to see if the cases are linked to the San Diego robberies, said sheriff’s Lt. John Spach.
In each of the those cases, witnesses reported seeing two to three male adults or juveniles wearing bandannas or ski masks. They took cash registers and emptied the contents in the parking lots, Spach said.
No one was injured, and no vehicle description was given.
San Diego police said it is unclear if the group they are looking for is made up of adults or teens. Not all the members seem to participate in each heist, Dobbs said.
“We know there are at least five subjects in the group, as one of the cases had five enter for the robbery,” Dobbs said in an email. “There could be more…it’s just a matter of who was on which robbery since they are masked up.”
Anyone with information regarding the robberies is asked to call the Robbery Unit at (619) 531-2299 or Crime Stoppers at (888) 580-8477.
