St. Pete Police: Convenience Store Robberies Could be Connected

Updated 3 p.m. Wednesday

St. Petersburg Police believe two suspects wanted for robbing three convenience stores on Feb. 5 and 11 also robbed a Sunoco Station Wednesday morning.

Just after 11 a.m. two suspects entered the Sunoco Station at 6800 4th St. N. Police say the scenario is the same as the other robberies.

Both men covered their faces. One suspect was armed; the other was not and went behind the counter to get the cash.

In this incident, the suspects not only robbed the cashier, but also robbed a delivery driver who was in the store at the time.

There is surveillance video from today's robbery; however, the suspects' faces are covered. Police believe the public can view a better description of the suspects on the still photo of the Kenwood Citgo robbery, which happened on Feb. 5.

Original Story 11 a.m. Wednesday

Police say the first robbery took place on Feb. 5, with two additional robberies taking place on Feb. 11.

St. Petersburg Police say three robberies that occurred at convenience stores within the past week could have the same two suspects. 

The first robbery took place on Feb. 5 at the Kenwood Citgo gas station location at 900 34th St. N., police said Wednesday. The second robberies both took place within 15 minutes of each other on Feb. 11. 

The first Feb. 11 robbery took place around 9:50 p.m. at the Chevron Station at 5405 Dr. ML King St. N.

According to police, in that case the two suspects entered the store with their faces covered and confronted the cashier. One of the suspects was armed with a handgun and pointed it at the victim.

Both suspects then went behind the counter and opened the two cash register drawers. When leaving, the armed suspect also took the cashier's cell phone, police said.

According to the police report, 15 minutes later the same two suspects committed a robbery to the KR Food Store at 2835 16 St. N.

In that case, the first suspect entered the store alone. When the second
suspect entered the store, he pointed a gun at the cashier while a customer was still standing at the counter and demanded money from the register.

The first suspect then came up from behind the customer, reached over the counter and retrieved the money from the register after which both suspect fled from the store, police said.

The attached surveillance video and photo is from the Feb. 5 robbery. 

Anyone who might recognize these two suspects or have information concerning the robberies can call Detective Wallace Pavelski at 727-893-4823. Callers may also utilize 727-893-7780 or the TIP line at 727-892-5000.

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Correction: The original report indicated the first robbery occured on Feb. 7. The robbery actually happened on Feb. 5.