Youngstown police investigating armed robberies

YOUNGSTOWN — Police are investigating multiple armed robberies in the city, all of them taking place in a span of only a few hours.

Police were called to a gas station in the 3200 block of Market Street on the city’s South Side at 1 p.m. Monday for an armed robbery involving a man trying to pump gas.

The 25-year-old Youngstown man told police he pulled into the station at 12:15 p.m. and noticed a blue minivan containing two men pull into the station as well. One of the men got out of the van and walked over to the man asking for change for $20.

The victim told the would-be thief he had only $7, and the man pulled out a handgun and demanded the victim hand over the money.

The victim told police he ran but was caught and hit in the chin with the butt of the gun. He told officers he was able to get in his vehicle and drive away, but he did see the same van and two men a short time later while driving in the area.

Police are hoping to get a clear picture of the robbery from nearby video surveillance cameras.

Minutes later, police were called to another gas station in the 1700 block of Elm Street on the North Side for another armed robbery involving a customer trying to pump gasoline.

A 27-year-old city man told police he was sitting in his car waiting while the gas was pumping into the vehicle when a man came up to the opened car door and pointed a gun in his face. Another man came up to the car and also pointed a gun at the man.

According to police, the man pushed away from the armed men and began to run. The thieves fired about five shots at the man as he ran away.

Police picked the victim up and returned to the gas station. The 1993 green Nissan Altima he had been driving was missing along with a cellular telephone left in the car when the man started running.

Police also are investigating the armed robbery of a Chinese food delivery person on the South Side.

According to police, the 32-year-old delivery man was making a delivery to a house on East Auburndale Avenue at about 4 p.m. Monday when two armed men ordered him out of his car and into a house.

Once inside the house, one of the men went through his pockets taking a money clip containing about $300 and the man’s driver’s license.

The men ordered the driver into a closet. When the driver came out of the closet a few minutes later, his blue 2002 Toyota Rav 4 was missing. He walked back to the Market Street restaurant and called police.