NEWPORT NEWS, Va. — The Newport News Police Department is searching for a suspect in connection with a store robbery and theft.
Police said in a news release that the first incident involving the suspect happened on November 6, 2020, after 1 a.m. at a 7-Eleven in the 11500 block of Jefferson Avenue.
A store clerk told police that a man entered the store and asked to purchase two boxes of cigarettes and two pizzas. As the employee made the pizzas, the man reached over the counter and took the cigarettes, and left the store without paying.
He left the area in a white 2-door sedan with stripes on its side. No one was injured in that incident.
On Dec. 4, around 2 a.m. at a 7-Eleven in the 10100 block of Warwick Boulevard, police believe the same man hit that store. This time a store clerk said she was assaulted by the man.
She told police he entered the store several times to purchase cigarettes. The clerk refused to sell him the items and he left. That happened between 10:30 p.m. and 10:45 p.m. on Dec. 3.
It was hours later when he returned to the store and asked for a pizza. The clerk went to get the pizza from the freezer and the man ran behind the counter and took three boxes of cigarettes.
The clerk tried to stop him but he pushed her into a display and left the store. He got away in a light-colored SUV.
The woman was not hurt in the incident.
Police provided surveillance photos of the incidents.
If you have any information regarding this incident, please call Crime Line at 1–888-LOCK-U-UP.
