By Theodore Decker, The Columbus Dispatch
COLUMBUS – A man who robbed six Franklin County gas stations within an eight-hour period beginning Tuesday night might resort to violence, authorities fear.
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Investigators said the man struck repeatedly late Tuesday and early Wednesday at stations on the West and Northwest sides and in Prairie and Franklin townships.
His methods were the same in each heist. He came to the store counter with a drink or candy bars in hand before making his demands known with a note and showing a gun tucked into his waistband.
With the gun displayed in each robbery, “we have to assume he could get violent,” said Sgt. Shaun Laird of the Columbus police robbery unit.
“We know that it’s the same person,” Laird said. “The surveillance images are very, very good.”
The string began at 9:30 p.m. at a BP station in the 4100 block of West Broad Street in Franklin Township.
The robber struck another BP station in the 900 block of Hilliard-Rome Road at 10:47 p.m.
At 1:27 a.m., the same man robbed a Thorntons station in the 2300 block of N. Wilson Road, Columbus police said.
At 3:40 a.m., he tried to rob the Speedway in the 5900 block of Sawmill Road (above) but ran out when the clerk activated a panic alarm, police said. The attempt is considered a robbery under Ohio law even though he didn’t get any money.
He struck again at 3:53 a.m. at a Turkey Hill in the 5300 block of Tuttle Crossing Boulevard. The string ended at 5:50 a.m. when he robbed a Speedway in the 4500 block of West Broad Street in Prairie Township.
Laird said the man might have driven a Honda Accord or subcompact car. Deputies said a small, dark sedan, possibly a Kia or Hyundai, might have been involved.
The man is described as being in his early to mid-20s. He is 5’5” – 5’7” tall and weighs between 135 and 150 pounds. He has black hair and a black, unkempt beard.
Columbus robbery detectives can be reached at 614-645-4665. For Franklin County deputies, call 614-525-3351.