Southwest Florida Crime Stoppers is asking for the public’s help to track down at least two suspects responsible for robbing two different Advance Auto Part Stores three times in the past month and a half.
The first incident happened on February 9th at the the Advance Auto Parts store located at 403 Sunshine Boulevard. The suspect described as a stocky, 5’9 man, ordered all employees to the front of the store before demanding money from both of the store’s safes.
Exactly one week later, the Advance Auto Parts store at 75 Joel Boulevard was the target of an unsuccessful robbery attempt. The store manager was starting closing procedures while another employee was with a customer at the front counter when a suspect was wearing a hoodie and a purple ski mask and was pulling on the door in an attempt to get inside.
The suspect motioned that he had a firearm before fleeing to a small compact vehicle. Witnesses were unable to give a clear description of the car. The suspect of the second incident was described the same as the suspect in the first incident, tall and stocky.
Just a few weeks later, on March 24th the Advance Auto Parts store was robbed a second time. Employees say a tall black man with a thin build walked into the store showing a 9 mm gun as the manager was walking out the last customer of the day.
The suspect was wearing a black hooded jacket and covered his mouth and nose with a purple and black bandana. He demanded money from the store’s cash registers before running away.
The Advance Auto Parts store located on Sunshine Boulevard has changed their store hours, set to close at 7pm every night effective March 25, 2017.
Anyone with information on any of the three incidents is urged to call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-780-TIPS (8477). All callers will remain anonymous and will be eligible for a cash reward of up to $1,000. Tips may also be made online at www.southwestfloridacrimestoppers.com or by submitting a tip on the P3Tips mobile app.
