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Wednesday, 01 October 2008 |
By KAREN CAMPBELL
Staff Writer
A man with a gun robbed a Wapakoneta cash advance outlet early Tuesday afternoon before forcing the cashier into a back room where he tied the woman up so he could make his escape.
The Advance America cashier, who freed herself within minutes, suffered no visible injuries, but the man escaped with an undisclosed substantial amount of cash, Wapakoneta Police Chief Dave Webb said hours after the robbery occurred.
Police officers received a call to respond to the location at 1321 Bellefontaine Street at 12:10 p.m. An employee from neighboring RG Sound and Communication outside taking a break called the police after talking to the cashier.
Webb said the unidentified black male entered the store through the front door, brandished a weapon and then escorted the woman to the back of the business, where he tied her wrists and ankles. Within minutes he exited, again through the front door, and left by unknown means of transportation.
According to descriptions, the man, who was in his early 20s is very clean cut, thin and approximately 5-foot, 7-inches to 5-foot, 9-inches tall. He was wearing a black sports jacket, dark pants and dark tennis shoes.
“Evidence has been collected from the scene and it is under investigation,” Webb told the Wapakoneta Daily News on Tuesday.
He declined to give more specific details regarding the crime or crime scene.
He said they did not have a vehicle description.
The Cridersville and St. Marys police departments assisted with K-9 units.
“It’s been years since the city had an armed robbery,” Webb said.
The last armed robbery within the city limits occurred at the Dairy Queen in June 2004.
An employee of Radio Shack was charged with falsifying an armed robbery report earlier this year.
Webb, who said it was not unusual for robbers to tie victims up to allow themselves more time, said the Advance America cashier was quite shaken up after the robbery.
An employee who came in to cover the store later in the afternoon said they were back open for business and everything was fine. She declined to comment further.
A Mansfield man was indicted in a June 26 armed robbery of a cash advance office in Sidney, according to reports from The Sidney Daily News.
The two clerks were robbed at gunpoint just before the 5 p.m. closing by two black males, who got away with $2,400. The second suspect also was through to be from the Mansfield area but was unknown.
The same man was accused of robbing an Advance America Cash Advance in Massillon on June 18.
According to reports from Massillon, Joseph D. Young, 20, walked into Advance America and asked the clerk about sending a money order. His partner came in the office and put a gun to the clerk. Young and the unidentified accomplice demanded money from a cash register and a safe, then forced the clerk into a back room and tied her up. The clerk was not injured. Police were able to identify the culprit through fingerprints obtained at the scene.
Young also was charged with aggravated robbery of a Payday Cash Advance in Canton several days after the Advance America heist.
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Last Updated ( Thursday, 02 October 2008 )
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