ALBANY – After two more violent armed robberies of Albany area convenience stores, owners say they are worried.

They’re looking for new ways to improve security after more gunshots were fired during one robbery.

WALB is reporting that in trying to slow down this rash of robberies, prosecutors today reminded these armed robbers that they are risking life sentences in prison, for just a small amount of money.

A masked man rushed into the Woodall’s on North Slappey in Albany just before 3:00 Sunday morning. The clerk was in a store room, and the robber wandered the store hunting her. When they met, the clerk told him to stop fooling, and the robber fired a shot into the ceiling.

Woodall’s General Manager Wright Woodall said “Just to let the clerk know that he was serious. It seems to be getting worse and worse. So it’s cause for some concern.”

The robber points the gun right in the clerk’s back as he walks her back to the cash register, and then runs. Luckily no one was hurt again, but store owners are worried. “But I don’t know if you can stop it. If they are going to rob you, I think they are going to rob you.”

Prosecutors say these robbers, especially the young ones need to realize they could face life in prison when they are captured. District Attorney Greg Edwards said “Armed robbery is one of the most serious crimes that can be committed short of murder.”

At two this morning two men robbed the Flash Foods on South Liberty Expressway. Police say they were wearing masks, and were armed with a pink pistol, but their crime is not a joke.

To protect their clerks, Woodall’s is looking at locking doors at night, and the clerk would have to buzz customers in.
“The only other option is just to close, and that’s not a viable option,” Woodall said.

Repeated Violent robberies concerning business owners. Owners say they seldom have more than a couple of hundred dollars in their stores, prosecutors say that’s hardly worth spending the rest of your life in prison.

WALB