LYNCHBURG, Va. – UPDATE 8 p.m. Thursday
Lynchburg police say they want to speak with the man pictured below in connection to Wednesday night’s armed robbery on Old Forest Road.
Anyone with information is asked to contact Det. Duncan at 434-455-6178 or Crime Stoppers at 888-798-5900. You can also enter an anonymous tip online.
ORIGINAL STORY
The Lynchburg Police Department is searching for a machete-wielding suspect after two separate armed robberies in Lynchburg over the past two days.
According to police, officers responded to the Apple Market at 3216 Old Forest Road for a reported armed robbery around 9 p.m. Wednesday night. They say a man, armed with a machete, went into the store and took an unknown amount of cash from the business before running away.
“We did have some assistance from the Amherst County Sheriff’s Office with a K-9 track. And then we also had assistance from the Virginia State Police that was their helicopter that came. They were providing us assistant in trying to locate the suspect last night," Carrie Dungan, community relations coordinator, said.
Police say this is the second robbery involving a suspect who used a machete in a convenience store robbery in the Hill City. Authorities have not said if the two incidents are related.
On Tuesday night, a man armed with a machete entered the Marathon Quick-E at 2209 Wards Road and took an undisclosed amount of cash before leaving, according to police.
The suspect in the Apple Market robbery has been described as a man around 6′ and 160 to 170 pounds, who was wearing a mask and a brown jacket at the time of the robbery, according to police. Authorities described the suspect in the Quick-E robbery as a man between 5′8″ and 5′10″ and say he was wearing a black mask, a gray hooded sweatshirt and blank pants at the time of the robbery.
Authorities have not said if the two robberies are related.
This is an ongoing investigation. Anyone with information is asked to contact Det. Bond at (434) 455-6161 or Crime Stoppers at (888) 798-5900.