Masked men rob Westside convenience stores

Witness: Police said both robberies may be connected

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The Jacksonville Sheriff's Office is investigating two separate robberies on the Westside Friday.

Just before 3:30 a.m. JSO was notified of an armed robbery at the 7-Eleven convenience store, located at 3613 Lane Ave. near the intersection of Wilson Boulevard.

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A woman who works at the store told police she was washing dishes when a black man wearing a black winter hat and black scarf over his face appeared behind her.

According to a police report, the man pointed a silver revolver at the woman's head and said, "Don't scream. This is not a drill."

The worker then gave the man all of the money in the cash register, according to police. The man asked for more money, but the worker explained she did not have access to the safe.

The man then took Newport cigarettes.

Another clerk working at the convenience store at the time of the robbery said another robber, a black man carrying a hand gun, approached him while he was stocking drinks in the back cooler, according to police.

The man pointed the gun at the clerk and told him to lie on the ground and put his hands on his head.

The clerk said he heard the other man say "we got it," then both men left the store, according to police.

While leaving the store with an undisclosed amount of money, the witnesses saw one of the men fire a shot into the air in the parking lot, according to police.

An hour later, police were notified of another armed robbery at the Kangaroo convenience store located at 6003 Roosevelt Blvd., just south of Timuquana Road.

Police said the store clerk was smoking a cigarette outside of the store when a masked black man, dressed in all black holding a hand gun, ran toward him.

The clerk told police the man told him to open the register. The clerk put the money from inside the register in a bag and gave it to the man, according to police.

The man then asked the clerk to open the safe, but the clerk said he was not able to.

The clerk told the man the safe was able to dispense one $20 bill at a time, then the man proceeded to dispense several bills, according to police.

The man then told the witness "thank you for your cooperation."

The clerk said a second man entered the store: a masked black man, dressed in all black carrying a small silver handgun.

The second man asked the clerk to open the second register and empty the money out. Police said after taking the money from the second register, both men left the store together on foot.

The men got away with $237 in cash, according to a police report.

The 7-Eleven store is located about six miles west of the Kangaroo store.

The witness from the Kangaroo robbery told Channel 4 that police said that the descriptions and surveillance video shows the robbers are the same in both robberies.

No injuries were reported, and police are investigating both robberies.