Revere Police: Convenience store robberies connected

REVERE – A pair of armed robberies that occurred Saturday at two city convenience stores appear to be connected, according to police reports.At about 7 p.m., a man described as 18 to 24 years old, approximately 5-foot-7 and 100 pounds, wearing a red bandanna and a black cap, walked into One Stop Convenience at 345 Revere St. holding a handgun.He pointed it at the clerk and said in a raspy voice, “Fill up the bag? Put all the money in the bag,” according to a police report.As numerous customers and employees ducked for cover in various parts of the store, the 47-year-old unidentified clerk bravely picked up a broom and chased the suspect out of the store.Unfortunately, it appears that the employee’s heroic act didn’t stop the robber for long.About 30 minutes later a man fitting the same description as the suspect with a “scratchy voice” walked into Anthony’s Market at 760 Broadway, pointed a handgun at the clerk and demanded money, a police report said.The robber additionally ordered two store employees to place both their cell phones away from them so they could not call anyone for help, police said.This time, the robber managed to get away with an undisclosed amount of cash.”It appears to be the same male who robbed One Stop Convenience store,” Officer Mark Birritteri wrote in his police report. Birritteri responded to both incidents.Police are trying to review surveillance tapes to identify the suspects.Police Captain Michael Murphy says Revere has seen a spike in robberies in the past two months.”Robberies are up here and I get the impression that they are up all over,” Murphy said.There have been at least 14 robberies in Revere, most of which occurred at local convenience stores, since Dec. 31. Police have only arrested suspects in two of the robberies.