Police on Thursday issued an alert for two men believed to have robbed at gunpoint possibly five MetroPCS wireless stores in the metro Atlanta area.
The latest stick-up occurred about 6 p.m. Wednesday at a MetroPCS store at 2296 Henry Clower Blvd., Snellville.
“The first man walks in and distracts the clerk, saying he has an issue with his cell phone,” Snellville police Detective James McDonald said. “The second one walks in shortly afterward, acts like he’s on the phone, then pulls a revolver from his waistband.”
Both men jumped over a counter, took an undisclosed amount of money from a cash register, and escorted two employees to the bathroom area. The bandits ordered them to stay there and then fled out a rear door, McDonald said.
They got into a getaway car driven by a third man, waiting in a gas station next door, and fled.
In the first of two cases being investigated by Gwinnett County police, two men entered the MetroPCS store at 4142 Jimmy Carter Blvd. near Norcross on Sept. 1.
One suspect “pretended to have trouble with his phone in order to distract the clerk,” said Cpl. Jake Smith, Gwinnett police spokesman. “The second suspect jumped the counter, produced a black revolver and demanded money.”
The men took money from the store's cash register, ordered employees into a back room and ran to a getaway car waiting outside, driven by a third suspect.
On Sept. 7, two men entered the MetroPCS store at 5014 Singleton Road, also near Norcross. The first suspect asked an employee about a phone; then, the second man drew a black revolver and demanded money. Both suspects jumped a counter, grabbed the money and fled on foot.
“Based on the suspect descriptions, security footage and the method of operation, these are believed to be the same suspects from the robbery on Sept. 1,” Smith said.
Police described the getaway car as a white 2001 Chevrolet Monte Carlo with aftermarket rims, dark-tinted windows and a sun roof, with Georgia tag BPC 8692.
Additionally, a DeKalb police spokeswoman confirmed two recent stick-ups of MetroPCS stores in that county. The addresses, dates and other information about those robberies were not immediately available.
"The propensity of violence, apparently, is escalating right now," McDonald said, noting that in the Snellville incident, one of the bandits "pointed the pistol toward one of the victims’ heads, demanding money."
"Certainly we don’t want something tragic to happen. These guys are pretty brazen," he said.
Anyone with information on the robberies or suspects is asked to call Gwinnett police robbery detectives at 770-513-5300.
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