Farmington Hills

Bandaged gunman robs 7-Eleven

By David Wallace
C & G Staff Writer

FARMINGTON HILLS — A gunman with bandages covering his face robbed the 7-Eleven at Middlebelt and Nine Mile roads shortly before 2 a.m. July 22.

“We do not have a suspect right now,” said Farmington Hills Police Cmdr. Matt Koehn July 27, though he said the department was processing some potential evidence.

Police responded to several 911 calls that came in as the robbery unfolded. A 22-year-old Farmington Hills man who arrived at the store as the suspect fled gave chase for a short time until he lost sight of the suspect on a gravel path connecting Shiawassee Road to Fairchild Avenue, to the convenience store’s west.

A 32-year-old employee cleaning the hot dog warmer had heard the door sensor indicate that someone had entered the store. The employee saw that the suspect’s face was covered in white cloth bandages as he approached the counter and demanded the store’s money. The robber lifted his shirt to show a handgun in his waistband, the police report said.

After the employee complied with the demands, he crouched behind the counter and eventually lay face-down on the floor as the gunman took the money and turned his attention to cigarettes.

While the gunman was behind the counter, a 43-year-old Farmington Hills resident entered the store to buy cigarettes. As he approached the checkout, he saw the prone clerk and the gunman kneeling behind the counter.

“Leave or I’ll kill you,” the gunman told the customer, showing the gun, according to the police report.

The resident ran outside and told his two friends, who had waited in the car, to call police. They left the parking lot for their own safety, but returned for the police investigation.

The gunman took cash and about 30 packs of Newport cigarettes. A Southfield police K-9 unit tracked a scent to nearby Colgate, which runs south from Fairchild, but the trail ended at an address; the residents there had been sleeping and had not seen anything suspicious, the report said.

The store owner provided police with video surveillance of the robbery, which matched the stories the witnesses told.

The robber was described as a man of undetermined race with dark skin — possibly Asian or Middle Eastern, according to one witness — who wore a black derby hat, a white long-sleeve sweatshirt, dark blue or black jeans and black shoes with white soles. He also wore a red and black backpack.

So far no other law enforcement agencies in the area have taken reports involving a perpetrator wearing bandages to cover his face.

“We have not seen anything similar,” said Koehn.

Anyone with information should call Farmington Hills police at (248) 871-2610.

You can reach C & G Staff Writer David Wallace at dwallace@candgnews.com or at (586)498-1053.