DETROIT – Detroit police Chief James White sounded the alarm after a string of robberies targeting dollar stores across the city.
White said 20 dollar stores in Detroit had been robbed at gunpoint since New Years Day, which is a span of three weeks.
“Somebody is making a decision to go into a business and put a gun into somebody’s face and rob them,” said White.
White announced that not only have 20 dollar stores in the city been robbed, but the robbery rampage began on Jan. 1, which amounts to almost one robbery a day.
All of the robberies involved a man walking into the stores and shoving a gun in a clerk’s face, often to grab cash, while other times to steal store items.
One person, Fernando Ford, was arrested and charged with one of the robberies, but what about the other 19?
Another man was arrested and is now under investigation.
“We are confident that the person that we are bringing charges on, which we already have in custody, but we’re waiting on the warrant to be signed, is good for multiple robberies,” White said.
Out of the 20 dollar stores that have been robbed, Local 4 learned that 18 of them were Family Dollar stores that were targeted because the robber was exploiting a security flaw within their stores.
“Get some cameras and make sure they’re pointed right at the entry point,” White said. “Get faces so that we can get these persons off of the street.”
