Armed robbers foiled twice
By John Joyce
Published in News on April 28, 2015 1:46 PM
Would-be robbers driving a white car and wearing red masks came up empty not once, but twice in the last 24 hours when their intended targets proved to be carrying nothing of monetary value.
No one was harmed in either incident.
The Goldsboro Police Department is investigating to see if the attempted robberies are connected.
"There are some similarities in the two robberies. We are currently investigating both of the robberies and will release more information when it becomes available," Sgt. Jeremy Sutton said.
He stopped short of saying the robberies were connected.
"We are definitely exploring that possibility," he said.
The attempts took place Monday evening and early this morning, the first one coming at 7:08 p.m. in the 100 block of Elm Street.
According to a Goldsboro police report, two men parked their car and were crossing the street.
A white four-door passenger car backed up from the stoplight to meet the two men. The driver, a black man wearing a shiny red mask, told one of the men to empty his backpack, but the man said it was empty. The driver then pulled out a long black and brown military-style rifle and demanded the men empty the backpack, the report said.
The two men emptied the bag revealing only a Bible. The suspect then drove off.
In a similar incident several hours later, at 4:28 a.m. today, a white car with three occupants stopped a man in the intersection of Freeman and Greenleaf streets and demanded money.
The rear passenger pointed a long gun at the man, but the victim maintained he had no money. The men in the car drove off.
The victim in this instance described the vehicle as a white car, possibly a Lincoln, with 24- or 26-inch rims.