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Reward offered in Bryant robberies; Armed man forced 3 victims to disrobe |
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Thursday, 20 August 2009 |
A reward of $1,000 has been offered for information leading to the arrest of the man responsible for committing two commercial robberies at gunpoint and forcing the female victims to undress before fleeing, Bryant police said.
“The reward is from an anonymous person,” Capt. Phillip Newcomb said. “If anyone has information that can help us find this person or persons, the need to call the Bryant Criminal Investigations Division at 847-0211.”
Authorities are not revealing whether any of the victims in the robberies were sexually assaulted, but police have said that they believe the same person is probably responsible for the armed robberies of Euphoria Salon and Spa and the Dollar General store, both in Bryant.
In each robbery, women inside the businesses were forced to remove their clothing and turn over cell phones, jewelry and other material things to the perpetrator.
The victims’ descriptions of the suspect is similar from both robberies.
According to incident reports, on Thursday, Aug. 13, at 11:45 a.m., an armed man walked into the Euphoria Salon and Spa on Main Street in Bryant demanding money. After the victim handed over an undisclosed amount of cash from the register and safe, the suspect reportedly ordered the victim into a back room and made her take off her clothing. The victim said the man then took her wedding rings and several other pieces of jewelry, her cell phone and the keys to her vehicle. The man then fled through the back door of the salon, leaving in an unknown direction.
The victim described the suspect as a black man, 6 feet tall of medium build and in his early to mid-20s. She said the suspect was wearing a white T-shirt over his head.
On Monday, a man similar in appearance to the suspect in the salon robbery walked into the Dollar General store on Arkansas 5 North. Shortly after 9 p.m. police were called to the store where two female employees said the man had been brandishing a pistol and forced them to take off their clothing.
Again, the victims were forced into a back room of the business after handing over an undisclosed amount of money from the cash register. They were stripped of their clothing and told to hand over jewelry and other items. The man then fled on foot in an unknown direction.
The victims told police the suspect is a black man, 5 feet 10 inches tall, weighing around 150 pounds and wearing a homemade ski mask that possibly was made from a pair of pantyhose in which slits were cut for his eyes and mouth.
“I don’t know for sure if it is the same person committing these crimes, but the M.O. (modus operandi) is very similar,” Bryant Detective Todd Crowson said.
“The crimes are close enough to believe that it is the same person,” Crowson said. “It is odd that the two robberies happened that close together with the same M.O., so they’re probably related, but we don’t know for sure at this time.”
Crowson said the Bryant Police Department is communicating with other agencies in their search for the suspect and suggested that residents and business owners take a few precautions. He said people should guard themselves, even after the hopeful capture of the criminal in these two robberies, to protect themselves from other possible criminals.
“Of course people need to lock their doors, but also people should change up their routines,” he said. “If you have a certain routine, change it up sometimes, because what criminals watch for are patterns. If you normally lock up a business at 9 p.m., change it sometimes to earlier or later and don’t be there in the business by yourself if you can help it.”
Crowson added, “Maybe together, with everyone’s help in the community, we can catch this guy. In the meantime, we are stepping up patrol around local businesses for day and night.”
Anyone with any information pertinent to the investigation is asked to call the Bryant Police Department at 847-0211.
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