Raleigh Police seek to solve rash of armed robberies
RALEIGH (WTVD) -- Raleigh Police are trying to solve a rash of robberies.
Four victims were held up in the city's historic Oakwood neighborhood in November.
Stay on top of breaking news stories with the ABC11 News App
Then, another man was robbed by the same suspects just south of downtown.
Police have a number of leads in the crimes that happened primarily here in historic Oakwood just north of downtown. But they told ABC11 they feel there is someone out who can help them break the case wide open.
One of the first victims to be robbed here on Bloodworth Street on the night of Nov. 11 certainly hopes police can reel in the two suspects.
"Anybody walking around with guns that they are willing to point at somebody is clearly in a position to hurt them," Ian Shields said.
Shields said he heard the two young men coming up behind him, and when he turned around, he got quite a surprise.
"There were two guns pretty much like this to my head," Shields recalled.
It was right around 9 p.m.
Shields gave the men all the cash he had on him and they took off.
Shields later found out that about two hours earlier nearby on Brookside Drive, the two had robbed another man at gunpoint.
Investigators believe the two then went south to a carwash on Lake Wheeler Road and robbed another man.
Forty-five minutes later they returned to Oakwood to Pell Street where Molly Stuart and a female friend were walking.
"They each pulled out a gun and each one pointed a gun at each of us and one of them suggested we hand over our money," Stuart said.
Stuart said she and her friend gave up their purses and ran.
But Stuart knew that meant the men had her driver's license with her address.
"I was very nervous about my house," Stuart said. "I knew they had my address."
Stuart said the cell phone in her purse was later found near her house -- evidence they did come there.
She said a friend's car key remote was also in her purse.
"We suspect they were trying the key fob looking for her car which wasn't at my house," Stuart said. "So they didn't find it, but they left my phone in that intersection knowing that it's a tracking device."
Like police, Shields believes there's probably someone out there who has information that will break this case wide open, and he hopes they will pick up the phone and do the right thing.
Anyone with information can call Raleigh Police at (919) 996-3335 or Crimestoppers at (919) 834-4357.
