Cops look at armed robbery at office, attempted robbery

One crime may be connected to a series of holdups in Youngstown.
BOARDMAN -- Township police are investigating an armed robbery and an attempted armed robbery that occurred this week.
Two men, both described as in their 20s, one wearing a Halloween mask and one a ski mask, went into the office of an apartment complex on Lemans Drive; one showed a gun, and they demanded money Monday afternoon.
When the office receptionist handed the money to one of the men, he said there must be more and ordered her to check another drawer.
Rent was due Monday.
After taking the money, about $9,100 in cash, checks and money orders, they fled toward the rear of the building then toward Shields Road. The men fled in separate cars.
A witness described both men as black, about 5 feet 6 inches to 5 feet 7 inches with heavy builds.
The robbery may be connected to a rash of similar holdups on Youngstown's South Side, police said.
Unrelated crime
In a separate case, an employee at Ambiance, 114 Boardman-Poland Road, told police that she was threatened at gunpoint as she arrived for work Monday morning.
The woman parked her car behind the store and went in to turn the alarm off. As she was getting back into her car, a man approached and rapped her car's passenger window with a pistol. She locked the car doors, and the man walked to the other side of the car and struck the driver's-side window.
The employee backed up and nearly struck the would-be robber, who ran through the rear parking lot of the store.
The victim described the man as black, in his 20s and between 5 feet 5 inches and 5 feet 8 inches.