RICHMOND, Va. (WTVR) - A man who robbed two people in one night stole more than just valuables from his victims. He also ran off with their pants.
One victim CBS 6 News' Jon Burkett spoke to says a masked robber approached her and a friend Tuesday night in the Fairfield Commons parking lot. But what happened next, she says, she just wasn't prepared for.
She’s terrified because the suspect is still at large, and she didn't want to show her face, but wants her story to be heard so others don't have to live through the horror and humiliation.
“He pulled a gun out and said, ‘Take everything out of your pockets,’” she said. “Then he said, ‘Give me your pants.’ So that's what I did."
She was left in the back parking lot of Peebles, wearing just underwear and a shirt. "I haven't had any sleep," she said.
Police sources say the robber most likely swiped the pants to make it more awkward for his victims to run for help.
“It's scary, real scary,” said Wayne Ellison who lives on nearby Mansfield Street. “I’m shocked. I’ve lived out here 40 years and never heard anything like that near the mall. They have security and it's well lit back there."
Police sources say there was a similar incident later Tuesday night. A half-hour after the mall parking lot robbery, over on Sandy Lane, a man walking home from his job was approached by a suspect wearing a bandana similar to the one worn in the first robbery.
He too, was told to take off his pants. But in that robbery, sources say, the suspect did not get the pants and left empty handed.
Police have been circling the community, trying to catch the suspect before he strikes again.
“They're on the job, trying to figure out who is doing what," said Ellison as a police cruiser went by.
Police sources say robbery detectives are also looking at Tuesday’s robberies to see if they have a link to two armed robberies in the Kings Point apartments a week ago.
If you have information that can help police in this case, call Crimestoppers at 804-780-1000.
