Possible Link in Muskegon County Armed Robberies, Purse Snatching

MUSKEGON COUNTY, Mich (May 22, 2014) – Authorities in Fruitport Township and Norton Shores are looking into a possible connection between two armed robberies and a purse snatching that happened in the last week.

On Sunday, Fruitport Township officers were called to the Walmart on East Sherman after a woman had her purse stolen while loading groceries into her vehicle in the parking lot.  Police say a male suspect wearing a light-colored hooded sweatshirt and a bandana covering his face jumped out of an SUV, believed to be a Chevy Blazer, and grabbed the victim’s purse then jumped back into the SUV and took off.  Police say there was a brief struggle between the suspect and the victim, but the victim wasn’t hurt.

The surveillance images of the suspect Chevy Blazer closely resemble the description of a suspect vehicle tied to two armed robberies in Norton Shores on Wednesday.

Ozzies Party Store on East Broadway Avenue and the Shell gas station on Grand Haven road were both robbed within 30 minutes of each other early Wednesday morning, between midnight and 1:00 a.m.

In both incidents, the suspect involved was wearing a hooded sweatshirt and a bandana covering his face, and a suspect vehicle believed to be a Chevy Blazer was at the scene.  Police in Norton Shores say the suspect also pointed a hand gun at workers when the two armed robberies happened.

A suspect description was obtained from the Shell gas station robbery for at least one suspect involved.  Police believe there may be at least two suspects:

• Male with pale skin
• 5’10
• 160-170 lbs
• skinny build
• grey zip-up hooded sweatshirt
• black baseball hat
• white bandana with black markings
• black jeans
• black shoes
• black leather gloves

Anyone with information on any of these three crimes is being asked to contact Silent Observer at 231-72-CRIME.