Philly police are stepping up efforts to identify suspects in a string of armed robberies in NE Philly

NORTHEAST PHILADELPHIA – Philly police want you to look at a surveillance photo. They say it’s a man who has been committing robberies for a month, robbing stores in the Northeast and trying to take money at gunpoint.

“Wow. Wow,” said Keith Murray and Yazmin McPherson when I showed them the photo. They emerged from an Acme on the 6600 block of East Roosevelt Boulevard on Friday evening. Police say the suspect tried to rob the same supermarket at gunpoint on Thursday around 5:15 p.m., but didn’t get away with anything.

“Usually there’s about five or six of us here, right? So I think he’s preparing to be caught. It’s still daylight. Someone will probably recognize him by his disguise,” Murray said. The disguise is a mask over the lower part of his face. He also wears black-rimmed glasses and a hat.

“He’s quite cheeky, he likes to do stuff like that,” Murray said.

Police say the suspect has attacked eight stores since September 21, striking during the evening hours. It includes two Acme stores, three Dollar General stores, two Dollar Tree stores and one Boston Market.

“He approached a cashier at several businesses, pulled out a gun and demanded money,” Capt. John Craig said. Investigators say the robber got away with money in six of the eight incidents. A few thousand dollars in total, they estimate. It’s surprising to Mike Dolan that stores have a significant amount of cash on hand.

“Most people pay with a credit card, I think. They charge it,” he said. Dolan says he noticed new security on Friday, in addition to the regular security guard normally there.

“When I came out, there was a guy standing at the door and he had a bulletproof vest on,” Dolan said.

Murray wonders if customers could be next. “If he’s bold enough to walk around the store and rob cashiers, he’ll walk up to someone, like we’re going to our car to put away our groceries. He could come up behind us and we could be next .”

Most of the businesses are in the North East, apart from one which was hit by the armed robber in Cheltenham.

Philadelphia Police urge anyone with information about these incidents to contact Northeast Detectives at 215-686-3153 or the PPD tip line at 215-686-tips (8477). Callers can remain anonymous.