Police investigating recent robberies in South Austin
AUSTIN, Texas - The Austin Police Department (APD) is investigating an armed robbery and a jugging robbery that happened at the beginning of the week.
Police released surveillance video of a suspect entering the Murphy's gas station on 710 E Ben White Boulevard on Dec. 12, with a gun threatening to shoot the cashiers if they didn't hand him money.
Police said they are looking for a man who may be white or Hispanic in his 40s to 50s, last seen wearing a black hooded sweater with a red stripe on his sleeve.
"We definitely see a lot of armed robberies. You know, this is becoming a major city, and we're definitely seeing a major city crime scene," says Austin police detect Brendan Schwanky.
Another major city crime APD has seen is jugging robberies. To this date, police reported 129 jugging robberies with nearly $1.3 million stolen.
Austin police are also searching for three suspects who violently robbed a man at a South Austin gas station. Police said this incident was known as a "jugging" robbery.
"A lot of stabbings, shootings, even people using vehicles during robberies and carjackings," says Det. Schwanky.
Austin police detective Brendan Schwanky says by sharing these videos and pictures of the suspects it helps them quickly get these suspects off the streets.
"When we're dealing with robberies, we're dealing with, for the most part, violent felonies. So it's our utmost priority to try to locate these people as quickly as possible," says Det. Schwanky.
Detective Schwanky says people in the community have been assisting with identifying the suspects by physical appearance or by hearing their voice on the surveillance videos.
"A lot of people are able to identify people that we may not be able to as law enforcement," says Det. Schwanky.
Police said in the Murphy gas station incident, thankfully, no one was hurt.
"These clerks did exactly what they were supposed to do. You know, no amount of money is worth getting hurt. You don't know the mindset of these people coming in here," says Det. Schwanky.
Anyone with information about this incident should call the APD Robbery tip line at (512) 974-5092. You may submit your tip anonymously through the Capital Area Crime Stoppers Program by visiting austincrimestoppers.org or by calling 512-472-8477. A reward of up to $1,000 may be available for any information that leads to an arrest.