GREENFIELD — Young men wearing makeshift masks have twice this month targeted Cumberland gas stations and demanded money from employees.
Police say they’re sure the same group of men is responsible for the crimes because in both instances, the thieves used T-shirts, bits of cloth, goggles and the hoods of their sweatshirts to hide their faces from cameras posted inside the stores. Most recently, they were armed with guns and made off with an undisclosed amount of cash.
Now, investigators with the Cumberland Police Department are sharing images of the masked men, hoping someone might recognize the suspects.
The most recently robbery happened Sunday around 3:45 a.m. at a Speedway, 11531 E Washington St., Cumberland Police Chief Mike Crooke said. The gas station is located just west of the Hancock-Marion county line, in front of Meijer.
The three black men responsible for the robbery are believed to be in their teens or early 20s.
Two of suspects were armed, Crooke said: one was carrying a handgun, and the other had a long-barreled firearm.
The men took two cashboxes from the store, each filled an undetermined amount of money, Crooke said.
They ran from the gas station and left the area in an older model white Chevy Impala, Crooke said.
The first suspect was wearing a black track suit and black shoes. He had what appeared to be a white T-shirt or piece of cloth wrapped around his head, covering his face.
The second suspect wore dark sweatpants and a red and blue jacket, with the hood pulled up over his head. He used a blue-colored cloth to cover his mouth and nose and a pair of black goggles to cover his eyes.
The third man was wearing a black hooded sweatshirt, blue pants and a black mask.
Cumberland investigators are working to determine if the robbery is connected to others in the area; but they’re sure the same group of thieves attempted rob another gas station within town limits earlier this month.
On Oct. 12, a young black male entered the Speedway gas station at 965 N. German Church Road.
He also had wrapped a white T-shirt or cloth around his head to cover his face and wore dark pants and a black jacket.
A clerk working in the gas station at the time ran and hid when she saw the masked man walk into the store, said Cumberland police officer Suzanne Woodland, who is handling both investigations.
Police aren’t sure whether the man was armed, Woodland said.
Security cameras caught the suspect trying and failing to open the cash register drawers. He eventually left without any money, she said.
No one was hurt in either incident.
Anyone with information on either incident is asked to call the Cumberland Police Department at 317-894-3525. Anonymous tips can be made by calling 317-894-6208.
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Anyone with information on gas station robberies in the Cumberland area is asked to call the Cumberland Police Department at 317-894-3525.
Anonymous tips can be made by calling 317-894-6208.
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