Tuesday, June 15, 2004
AUSTINTOWN -- Police are investigating two unrelated reports that men used knives to commit robberies Monday. One report states that a man entered the Certified gas station on Mahoning Avenue about 12:47 p.m., brandished a utility knife, and demanded money. The clerk gave him an undetermined amount of money from the cash register, and the man left in a green car.
Police said they later found a car matching the description of the car used by the robber abandoned on Interstate 680 near Belle Vista Avenue. An area resident told officers a man left the car, got into a truck, and drove away.
The second robbery report states that a man used a box knife to steal money and a car from a 76-year-old township resident at 10:30 p.m. on Victoria Road. The township resident told police he was giving the robber a ride home from the Budapest Inn on Mahoning Avenue. When the two arrived at the man's home, he said his wife was inside and he didn't want to go in, reports state. He then told the township resident to drive to Victoria Road, where he pulled out the knife.
The robber told the township resident to get out of the car and give him money, reports state. The township resident gave him money from his pockets, then the robber drove away. The resident called police from a nearby business.