Rash of robberies strike Danville neighborhoods

Courtesy of the Danville Police Department's FB page (Copyright by WSLS - All rights reserved)

DANVILLE (WSLS 10) - The Danville Police Department is investigating a series of robberies that all occurred Tuesday night - some within minutes of each other. Officers are trying to determine if the crimes are connected to other cases. Police said 9 robberies happened within 5 days.

The first robbery was reported at 8:45 p.m. Tuesday, August 12 in the 700 block of Lanier Avenue.

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The victim told police a black man in his 20s, slim build, with a medium afro, wearing a green t-shirt and blue jeans approached him. The suspect produced a shotgun and demanded money from the victim. The suspect took an undetermined amount of cash and property. He then fled the scene on foot in an unknown direction of travel. No injuries were reported.

One woman who lives nearby didn't want to be identified by her full name. She works unusual hours and said she now lives in fear.

The next robbery was reported nearly two hours later at 10:45 p.m. in the 100 block of Norwest Boulevard. In this case, a Pittsylvania County resident advised a black male, described as 5'4"/140 wearing a white t-shirt holding an object in his hand covered up in a white t-shirt demanded money from him. The suspect took an undetermined amount of cash and also fled fled the scene on foot. The victim did not sustain any injuries.

About five minutes later, at 10:50 p.m. a third robbery was reported in the 1900 block of Halifax Road. A Danville City resident advised a black male, described as 6'0", skinny, wearing a black mask and all black clothing

approached him. The suspect produced a long gun and demanded money from the victim. The suspect was able to take an undetermined amount of cash and property from the victim - fleeing the scene on foot in an unknown direction. No one was hurt during this incident.

The fourth robbery was reported minutes later at 10:55 p.m. Tuesday in the 1400 block of Halifax Road. The female victim advised police a skinny black male in his 20s, wearing a black t-shirt, blue jeans, and a black

piece of cloth covering his face approached her. The suspect produced a shotgun and demanded money from the victim. The suspect took an undetermined amount of cash from the victim before fleeing the scene. No injuries were reported during the fourth incident.

According to Captain T.W. Jones with the Danville Police Department, the investigation into the four robberies is ongoing. While there are some questions about whether or not they are related; police say it is too early at this stage in the investigation to make that determination.

Police remind people to be aware of their surroundings. They said if a suspect approaches, victims should comply with the criminal and then contact police.