Man with toy shotgun robs Zero’s

Published 8:53 pm Wednesday, June 2, 2010

A man with a realistic-looking toy shotgun robbed a N. Main Street business Tuesday night and assaulted an employee before leaving with a bag containing cash.

Suffolk police are looking for a black male in his 20s who was wearing dark clothing and a dark hoodie, along with a white scarf on his face, during the robbery at Zero’s Subs, inside the Holiday gas station near the Farm Fresh shopping center. He is 5’8” to 6’ tall, according to police reports.

According to Suffolk spokesperson Debbie George, a man entered the business at about 10 p.m. Tuesday, as employees were preparing to close the store. The man went into the employees’ area behind the counter, brandished a shotgun and demanded money from a female employee.

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As the employee was giving the man the money, a male employee entered the area and confronted the man, George said. The suspect hit the second employee with the shotgun, ordered him to the floor and then hit him again, at which time the shotgun fell apart and the victims realized it was just a toy gun.

The suspect then “took a bag of money and fled,” George said.

Suffolk police were called to the scene and responded with a tracking dog, which followed the scent to the parking area behind the Farm Fresh shopping center, she added. The dog led police to recover a portion of the money that had been taken.

Anyone with information about the robbery should contact Crime Line at 1-888-Lock-U-Up. Crime Line callers do not have to give their names or appear in court. If a caller’s information leads to an arrest, the caller can qualify for a reward of up to $1,000.