Westbrook Subway security video courtesy of Westbrook Police Department.
Westbrook police are asking the public to watch and listen to a surveillance video of an armed robbery Monday night at a Subway restaurant in hopes someone will recognize the masked man responsible for the crime.
The footage was released as police from four towns collaborate to solve a string of seven armed robberies in seven days throughout Greater Portland that have alarmed investigators.
Whoever is responsible seems to be growing more brazen.
In the video, a man enters the store dressed head to toe in dark clothing and with his face covered. With his head down, he approaches the counter, draws a black gun and demands cash.
The encounter lasts less than a minute. Before the man leaves the store, the clerk behind the counter places a roll of coins on the counter, but the robber was apparently uninterested.
“You can keep that, a tip for yourself, OK?” he said, before leaving the store.
Police hope someone recognizes his movements, mannerisms or voice.
“This one has audio, and we haven’t had that before,” said Westbrook police Capt. Sean Lally. “If someone knew this person they’d probably recognize the voice. It is a tangible thing we can actually put out there and get some tips generated. It might be a break in the case, or it might be another piece of evidence going forward.”
The robbery at 390 Bridgton Road, also Route 302, was reported about 8:36 p.m. after the lone man entered the store, displayed a black handgun, demanded cash and fled on foot.
He was described in a police statement as a white man wearing a dark blue hooded sweatshirt and dark pants.
Subway manager Kerri Consiglio said the man, whose face was covered, demanded that the employee on duty open up the cash drawer.
Hours before the seventh robbery, Portland police held a news conference to say they believe there is a connection between the first six robberies and to ask for the public’s help as they investigate the unusual cluster of potentially dangerous crimes.
Police have not definitively said that the six robberies were committed by the same person, but investigators are proceeding as if they may be linked, and have warned the public not to confront the robber. In each case, a man with a similar description and wearing a mask showed a handgun and demanded money.
In each case, a man entered a business covered from head to toe, brandished a gun, demanded cash, and fled on foot.
“It’s a desperate person who will more than likely continue to do what he’s doing,” said Portland police Lt. Robert Martin during a press conference Monday. “Eventually, something is going to happen and it’s going to be a dangerous situation, an armed encounter between law enforcement and the subject, or some type of encounter between a citizen and the subject. And we don’t want to see that happen.”
The departments are pooling resources and detectives are asking the public to help by scouring private home or business surveillance systems that may have captured images of the robberies showing the suspect and any vehicle that may have been involved.
The robberies were reported in Portland, Westbrook, Falmouth and Cumberland starting March 20. No one has been hurt.
The first robbery was last Tuesday night at the Riverton Gas Station on Forest Avenue in Portland. The robber had a silver handgun and was described as a man about 30 years old, 5-foot-5 with a thin build and wearing a heavy dark jacket, dark gloves and a ski mask.
On Wednesday, Falmouth police searched for a man who flashed a gun at the Lil’ Mart store on Route 1 around 8 p.m., then fled with some cash. He was described as white, wearing a gray hooded sweatshirt, face mask and black gloves. A manager at the store declined to comment Monday.
The next day, a white man robbed the Good Things Variety on Saco Street in Westbrook around 1 p.m. Police unsuccessfully tracked the robber with a dog. He was described as 5-foot-8, with a skinny to medium build and wearing a blue sweatshirt or fleece vest with yellow lettering, a face mask and sunglasses.
The manager of the variety store said Monday that the robber entered the store and waved a gun at him and other employees.
The next day, on Thursday in Cumberland, someone robbed the Irving gas station at 174 Main St. at 8:44 p.m., police said.
The fifth robbery was reported Saturday at the Daily Grind coffee shop in Westbrook, where a man with a gun and a mask robbed the store before 8 a.m.
On Sunday night, a masked man armed with a handgun and bearing a similar description entered the China Taste restaurant on Washington Avenue in Portland and demanded money, but he fled before he could take any cash after people came out of the kitchen to see what was going on.
Police are urging store owners and citizens to remain vigilant, and warned against intervening in any ongoing crimes.
This story will be updated.