Shady customer
On Monday, Dec. 3, at about 4:23 p.m., police responded to a radio call for an armed robbery at the Sunglass Hut at 86 Newbury St.
Upon arrival, the officer met with a store employee, who was shaking and stuttering, and appeared to be in grave fear.
The employee said an unknown male suspect, approximately 30 years old and 6 feet tall and wearing a cold-weather black mask that obscured all of his face besides his eyes, walked to the rear right section of the store and began deposited 19 pairs of miscellaneous sunglasses, with a total retail value of $7,600, into a green Barnes & Noble shopping bag.
The employee said the same suspect stole 26 pairs of sunglasses one day earlier.
The suspect told the employee the second robbery was easy to get away with, since she was working again that day. He then said to her: “If you grab the phone, I will put a bullet in your head.”
The suspect then exited the store, took a right onto Newbury Street and headed towards Berkeley Street before taking a right into the alley adjacent to the Restoration Hardware parking lot that connects to 501 Boylston St.
Police searched the area for the suspect at this time to no avail.
On Wednesday, Dec. 4, at about 10:30 a.m., police made an on-site warrant arrest at Massachusetts Avenue and Albany Street after spotting an individual matching the description of the suspect in the Sunglass Hut robberies.
The suspect was placed under arrest and transported to District 4 headquarters for booking, during which time, he was found in possession of $481 U.S. currency, as well as two clear plastic zip-lock bags containing a brown powdery substance.
The suspect was additionally charged with possession of a Class A substance with intent to distribute, and the money and drugs were seized as eveidence.
Bad timing
On Thursday, Dec. 5, at approximately 2:27 p.m., officers responded to a radio call for an armed robbery at Lord & Taylor at 760 Boylston St.
On arrival, police met a loss-prevention employee who said he observed, on surveillance video, a known shoplifter enter the men’s fragrance section and place a bottle of cologne inside his jacket. The suspect then exited the store into Parking Level 4, where the employee attempted to confront him.
“Not this time,” the suspect said before brandishing a 4-inch, spring-loaded knife with a black handle at the victim and fleeing into the elevator. The suspect then fled out of the store in an unknown direction, the victim said.
Officers searched the area for the suspect to no avail.