Business owners on SE Hawthorne have been asking bike patrol officers about two recent armed robberies on the retail strip. SE Precinct’s Officer Robert Pickett sent this out to the neighborhood to answer their concerns:

I just wanted you to know that there was a robbery at the Cup and Saucer on July 11 and another one at Bower’s Bakery on July 13. In both cases a white male suspect in his 20’s entered the stores, lifted his shirt to display a silver handgun tucked into his front wasteband, and demanded money.

The suspect in both cases was described as tall (5-10 to 6-0), thin, and pale, almost unhealthy-looking. He admitted to one victim that he was on drugs and needed money. In both cases the suspect was wearing a black t-shirt and dark pants.

One witness noticed a dark color, older import-style pickup leaving the area at a high rate of speed after one of the robberies. It had a canopy over the rear bed.

There is no suspect in custody yet.