By KAREN P. CHYNOWETH
Recorder
Staff
Sunderland -- A man held up the
Java Hut coffee shop and juice bar Saturday afternoon by threatening to
inject the clerk with a hypodermic needle.
Chief Jeffery
Gilbert of the Sunderland Police Department said that a white man,
described to be in his mid- to late-20's, between 5 feet, 8 inches to 6
feet tall with a thin build, walked into the coffee shop on Route 116 at
around 3:30 p.m. and showed the clerk a syringe filled with a reddish
liquid.
"He said something like 'This is full of HIV
blood,' or 'This is full of H,' which is the short form of heroine,"
Gilbert said.
The man threatened to
inject the clerk, who was alone in the store, if he did not hand
over the money. Gilbert said the |
robber, who was wearing a gray hooded
sweat shirt and dark sunglasses, made off with more than
$400.
A similar incident
happened in Easthampton at the Shelburne Falls Coffee Roasters on
Thursday. Police believe the two incidents are
connected.
Easthampton Police said a man came into Union
Street store at around 11:33 a.m., pointed a hypodermic needle at the
clerk and told him it was filled with enough "H" to kill him. The
suspect also told the employee that he had a knife, which he did not show
him.
The Shelburne Falls Coffee Roasters clerk described
the suspect similarly to the way the Java hut clerk described him, but
added that the man had an unshaven sunken-in face.
Gilbert
said anyone with any information about the Sunderland or Easthampton
robberies should call the Sunderland Police at (413) 665-7036 or the
Easthampton Police at (413)
527-1212. |
