Jackson clerk scares off masked man suspected in robberies

A masked man believed to be the same man who held up two Cape Girardeau businesses tried to rob the Save-a-Lot at 1905 E. Jackson Blvd. on Tuesday, Jackson police said.

According to Lt. Rodney Barnes, a man in a black sweat shirt and a green Halloween mask walked in at about 8 p.m., when the store was closing. The suspect, carrying a Wal-Mart shopping bag, approached a clerk, who warned the manager over the intercom and scared the suspect away.

Before the masked man entered the store, Barnes said, he encountered a customer coming out. Barnes said the man mumbled, "Somebody's going to get hurt."

He did not display a weapon, nor did he get any money.

"Things were not going well for him when he encountered the customer going out," Barnes said. "It was right at closing time; he must have been assuming the store was empty. Then the clerk going on the intercom scared him."

Barnes said he believes the suspect is the same man who held up the Food Giant and Little Caesar's Pizza in Cape Girardeau within the past two weeks. In every instance, the suspect was wearing a green Halloween mask and dark sweat shirt. He is described as being between 5 feet 10 inches and 6 feet tall with a stocky build.

The suspect Monday night left in a four-door metallic-colored car similar to a Toyota Camry. He headed west on Jackson Boulevard.