Township store robbed
REDSTONE TWP. – A thief in the night ran away with $400 in cash following a robbery late Wednesday at the Texaco Food Mart at the intersection of Routes 40 and 166. The robbery, which is being investigated by the state police at Belle Vernon, occurred at 11:17 p.m. when the robber entered the food mart, went to the register and demanded money from the register clerk.
Police said the robber, who was wearing a pink knit hat and black neoprene ski mask, told clerk Heather Lowry of Brownsville to “give me the money.” The man repeatedly made the demand, and showed Lowry and fellow employee Austin Savona of Grindstone that he had a metal gun-shaped object hidden in his pants, police said.
The robber then grabbed Savona, who was on the far side of the register beside Lowry, and threatened to shoot him. Savona opened the register and the robber grabbed the money pan and ran away in the direction of Route 40 east. Police said the man got away with $400 in various cash and coin denominations.
The object in the man’s pants turned out to be a silver L-shaped piece of metal and not a gun, police said. Manager Diane Hatfield said the two employees saw the object, which she described as a “model of a gun,” when the robber pulled it out of his pants.
Hatfield said Thursday that she was thankful neither Lowry nor Savona was hurt. She said both employees were “shook up” as a result of the incident, and coincidentally neither were scheduled to work on Thursday. She said she will “play it by ear” regarding when the pair will return to work. Hatfield, manager for the past three years, said the store has been a victim of robberies in the past, but nothing like what happened Wednesday night.
The robber, described as a thinly built, white male, between 5 feet 7 inches and 5 feet 9 inches tall, was also wearing a gray sweatshirt and light blue jeans.
State police were assisted by the Brownsville and West Brownsville police departments. Anyone with information is asked to call police at 724-929-6262.