Authorities in Paulding County are looking for bandits they believe are behind a string or armed robberies over the past two weeks.
In three separate incidents, stick-up artists robbed restaurants at gunpoint between the hours of 9 and 11 p.m., when the businesses were less crowded, Paulding County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Sgt. Brandon Gurley said.
“They are presenting a handgun and demanding money,” Gurley told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Wednesday night’s robbery of the Waffle House at 4865 Ridge Road in Douglasville was the latest in a triad of capers, all within a five-mile radius. In Wednesday’s incident, two masked men -- one short and one tall, both of medium build -- were described as the robbers.
Gurley said only one man, a black man of medium build wearing a mask and gloves and standing between 5-foot-10 and 6-feet tall, pulled the earlier robberies.
“We’re considering the possibility that someone was waiting outside,” he said.
The first robbery happened on Nov. 23 inside the Subway at 6525 Hiram-Douglas Highway in Powder Springs. The Dominos Pizza in the same shopping center was robbed on Nov. 28.
“The close proximity that these occurred and the similar description of the individual [involved] causes us to look at the possibility that these are being committed by the same people,” Gurley said.
Authorities are asking that businesses in the area remain vigilant.
“Be cautious and be alert, and report any suspicious people you see around your business at night,” Gurley said.
Anyone with information about these robberies is asked to call the Paulding County Sheriff’s Office criminal investigations division at 770-443-3015, or call Crime Stoppers Atlanta at 404-577-8477 to leave an anonymous tip.
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