Last week’s armed robbery at the Green Lake Ben & Jerry’s may be connected to two other North Seattle robberies.
All three robberies took place on Wednesday, May 5, 2010 and follow a similar pattern: an armed man, face covered, told clerks to count to 100 on the ground.
A commenter on the seattlepi.com story has suggested the man be called the “Count to 100 Bandit,” a handle which has also been picked up by My Ballard.
More details from Casey McNerthney and our news partners at seattlepi.com:
The first case happened at the 7-Eleven in the 3900 block of Stone Way North. The robber entered with a black semi-automatic pistol in his right hand and aimed it at the clerk. He wanted both cash registers opened.
The robber jammed money inside the pockets of his hooded sweatshirt and yelled “Where are the big bills?”
As soon as both registers were opened, the suspect ordered the clerk on the ground and told him to count to 100 before getting up, or else he’d be shot.
The man fled on foot, but the clerk didn’t know which way he went or if the robber used a vehicle.
The robber in that case was described by the clerk as a mixed-race man, 6-foot-2 with a black hooded sweatshirt, a baseball cap and a bandana over his face. He wore black gloves on both hands, dark jeans and black boots. The suspect spoke English without an accent and appeared right-handed, according to police.
Police learned from video surveillance that the robbery lasted than 75 seconds, and the man stole about $350.
The second case happened about 1:30 p.m. May 5 at the Blockbuster in the 5900 block of 15th Avenue Northwest.
The suspect in that case, described by one witness as a white man in his mid 20s, entered pointing a black handgun and demanded the registers be opened. He had a black hooded sweatshirt, a dark mask over his face, black winter gloves and dark pants.
A woman who was threatened at gunpoint told police she didn’t think the man acted like a drug addict because “he was not ‘twitchy,’” according to a police report. The man told her and another person to lay on the floor and count to 100, during which time he fled.
Police also have video surveillance footage from that robbery, but a still picture or video have not been released publicly.
The third case happened at the Green Lake Ben & Jerry’s.
At 1:59 p.m. Wednesday, a white man pulled a handgun from his waistband and told a clerk to “open the register right now,” while pointing the pistol at him.
The clerk handed the man some money. The suspect then placed the gun in his front waistband and reached across and grabbed money in the register. He told the clerk to get on the ground, count to 100 and walked away westbound.
Police did an extensive area search, as they did in the earlier two cases, but were unsuccessful.
The man in that case wore a neoprene snowmobile-type facemask with dark gloves and blue jeans. He also had a white down jacket going past his waist with a hood covering his head. The gun had a dull black finish.
People with information about the robberies are asked to call 911 or (206) 684-0850.
