Police blotter: Another 7-Eleven robbed at gunpoint
Police say the Fairhaven Avenue 7-Eleven was robbed on Friday night, marking the third time in less than two weeks that a Richmond Highway area convenience store was held up.
Friday’s robbery happened at the store located at 2405 Fairhaven Avenue, which is less than a block from Route 1 (see map). Police say a man walked into the 7-Eleven around 10:55 p.m. with a handgun and told the clerk to hand over cash. The man was given an undisclosed amount of money and then ran from the store.
Police said the robber was described as a black man between 5 foot 5 inches tall and 5 foot 8 inches tall, wearing a black hooded sweatshirt and a backpack.
The robbery comes on the heels of two other recent 7-Eleven robberies along the Route 1 corridor. Those robberies — on Huntington Avenue on October 27 and one on North Kings Highway on October 24 — were both less than a mile from the store that was robbed on Friday night.
In all three recent robberies, the perpetrators have been armed with handguns, according to the police. Two men took part in the Huntington Avenue robbery, during which a vehicle was also stolen from one of the clerks. In the other robberies only one suspect entered the store.
No injuries were reported in any of the recent robberies.
7-Elevens in the Richmond Highway corridor have been ripe targets for stickup men for years. The Fairhaven Avenue location that was robbed on Friday has been a frequent victim, including a bizarre February incident where a stolen car was driven through the window of the store in an unsuccessful robbery attempt. The store was also robbed twice in one week in June 2016.
Prior to the October 24 holdup on North Kings Highway, there had been a four-month lull in 7-Eleven robberies.
Other incidents from the weekend reported in the Mount Vernon police district:
Missile into Occupied Dwelling: A homeowner in the 7900 block of Janna Lee Avenue heard a strange noise around 4 a.m. In the morning, the homeowner found a bullet on the floor.
Larceny: 3400 block of Audubon Avenue, license plate from vehicle
Larceny: 2800 block of Beacon Hill Rod, beer from business
Larceny: 2900 block of Furman Lane, license plates from vehicle
Larceny: 2300 block of Huntington Avenue, merchandise from business
Larceny: 3100 block of Lockheed Boulevard, merchandise from business
Larceny: 7800 block of Midday Lane, cell phone from location
Larceny: 3500 block of Oakwood Lane, license plates from vehicle
Larceny: 2500 block of Parkers Lane, license plates from vehicle
Larceny: 2500 block of Parkers Lane, property from residence
Larceny: 5900 block of Richmond Highway, liquor from business
Larceny: 7700 block of Richmond Highway, leaf blower from business
Larceny: 8600 block of Richmond Highway, merchandise from business
Larceny: 7900 block of Sausalito Place, property from vehicles
Larceny: 8300 block of Russell Road, wallet from location
Larceny: 8600 block of Village Square, license plate from vehicle
Why I carry in the corridor.
A reason to be very observant when going into a 7/11 in the evening. Do their locations make them an easy target? The sites are close to the beltway and provide an easy escape route.
Would better camera technology to include parking lot/driveway Cameras help make their locations less vulnerable with Selective video feeds to the county dispatch center them less vulnerable? These feeds would only be sent when a 911 call is made. Is there AI video tech wherein the video of robbery suspect is linked to a vehicle in the store parking lot or his or her approach to the store? Could there be some AI tech on the backend such that if a license plate is ID’D with the camera feed Of a suspects vehicle an automated search reveals the owner of the vehicle and if the suspect is matched to a license picture this info is passed to the investigating officers along with any info about the suspect in the FBI data base. Additionally I wonder if there’s the potential of matching the suspects license tag to camera tech at intersections in the area? If so perhaps this tech could be applied to amber alerts.
These are all great questions Dan!
Perhaps you should be heading up the investigation as the police, in my opinion, have dropped the ball! They need to send a message (by making arrests in the hold ups& flooding the area w/cops) that crime will not be tolerated around here.
As a female, I do not feel safe walking alone to 711 (.3 miles) on Huntington road…night or day.
As oppose to King ST/Eisenhower, it almost feels like this area is getting worse by the day.
I have respect for law enforcement & appreciate their efforts but this is unacceptable!…