Upper Darby Police Searching For Suspects Who Allegedly Robbed 2 Different Wawa Stores
UPPER DARBY, Pa. (CBS) -- Two Delaware County Wawas were targeted by armed robbers within days of each other. Now, Upper Darby police are looking for the suspects and warning the public.
Both incidents occurred around 4:45 a.m. when most people are just stumbling into Wawa for a coffee, but police say these men were looking for something different -- cold hard cash.
Surveillance video shows the two men police say are responsible for robbing two Wawas about a half-mile from each other.
"They were in, out within a minute," Upper Darby Police Superintendent Timothy Bernhardt said.
The first one happened on Jan. 29 at the Wawa on South State Road. Authorities say the thieves showed their handguns before demanding cash. Three days later, at a Wawa on West Chester Pike, they told the clerk they were armed but didn't actually reveal a weapon.
"The male actor with the blue Hilfiger jacket on walks up to the employee behind the register and inquires about purchasing cigarettes while the second male actor walks over with the black hooded sweatshirt on and demands the money from the register," Bernhardt said. "As the employee's giving him the money from the register, the second male, who has the blue Hilfiger jacket on, says the other register also and give me the box of Newports on the floor. So they walk out of that with the money from both registers and then a box of Newport cigarettes that are valued at $3,000. Same thing, employees in the store as well as customers and no one knew what was going on."
Described as light skin Black men, both suspects wore masks but had on the exact same clothing in both robberies. One of the men had on a distinctive Hilfiger jacket. The other wore a black hooded sweatshirt.
"Each store, they got about $500," Bernhardt said. "Wawa drops money throughout the night so there isn't a lot of cash there."
Once outside, police say the men moved fast and were out of sight quickly. They're now checking surveillance videos in the area to try and identify them and see if a car was involved.
"They had about four, five employees in each store, several customers in the first one and one in the second one. They're very nonchalant," Bernhardt said.
Police have increased patrols in the area.
There are at least half-dozen Wawas in Upper Darby and authorities want these men off the streets before another store is hit, or someone gets hurt.
If you recognize them, you're urged to call authorities.