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Armed man attempts to rob Tonganoxie store

By Shawn Linenberger - | May 3, 2006

Tonganoxie police hope two customers at G&P Country Mart will contact them regarding an attempted armed robbery Saturday.

Police Sgt. Billy Adcox said Tuesday that a man, about 5-foot-8 or 5-foot-9 and weighing 190 pounds, held a G&P clerk at gun point about 10:50 p.m. Saturday and demanded that the clerk give him money from the cash register.

The man, wearing a hooded sweatshirt, with the hood over his head, and a white mask, pointed a handgun at the clerk, the employee told police.

Surveillance footage also showed two customers enter the convenience store at 1204 E. U.S. Highway 24-40 when the suspect was holding up the employee. After the customers left, the suspect fled without taking any money.

Adcox said police are encouraging the two customers to contact the department to help with the investigation. He also said anyone else who has information about the suspect or the attempted robbery should call the police department at (913) 369-3754.

“He left through the front door and headed west and that’s the last time anyone saw him,” Adcox said.

Tonganoxie’s last armed robbery was in February at Subway, 886 Northstar Court. A man entered the restaurant just before closing time at 9:55 p.m. and said he had a gun in the front pocket of a hooded sweatshirt. The man never showed a gun, but pointed at workers through his front pocket. The man took $350 from Subway workers and tried to enter Sonic, 550 Northstar Court, before also fleeing that restaurant. That suspect has not been found.

That armed robbery marked Tonganoxie’s first in about 30 years, Tonganoxie dispatcher Mike Vestal said. Adcox said police anticipated the rise in crime.

“It’s really not a surprise,” Adcox said. “We expected it coming, the highway being like it is. And the growth of Tonganoxie, we knew it was coming.”

Both businesses sit along U.S. 24-40. Adcox said businesses are encouraged to install surveillance cameras, considering the rise in thefts.