Commerce – Commerce Police Department has had a rash of Robberies along Monroe Street, between Hunt Street and Maple Street.
In total, there have been 2 Robberies reported and 1 attempted Robbery. The first robbery was reported around 6:30pm on Sunday, November 25th. Victims report that as they left a local restaurant walking home, they noticed a early model four door Oldsmobile, light blue in color occupied by several persons pass by them. A few minutes later, the two victims were approached by 3 black males who demanded money and threatened to harm them. They then noticed the vehicle they saw a few minutes prior pulled up next to them with it's lights off and a 4th black male exited the vehicle and also demanded money. The victims complied with the suspect's request. The suspects took money from the victim's wallets and gave the wallets back to them. The driver of the vehicle never exited the vehicle.
The suspects are described as follows:
Actor 1: b/m (driver)
Actor 2: b/m about 6'-2"-6'-4" wearing a red hooded sweat shirt.
Actor 3: b/m about 5'-8"- 5'-10" wearing a white hooded sweat shirt with pockets in the front.
Actor 4: b/m about 5'-8"-5'-10" wearing a blue sweat shirt and had short hair.
Actor 5: b/m 5'-8"-5'-10" wearing a blue varsity type jacket with a big "B" on the left chest area.
No weapons were displayed; however, actor #3 had an object in his pocked pointed at the victims. It is unknown if it was actually a weapon.
The second incident was reported on Monday, November 26th around 9:20pm. The victims report that while they were walking home from a local restaurant, they were startled by two black males walking behind them. When the got near the corner of Maple & Monroe Streets, one of the suspects yelled at them saying give us what you got . This suspect is described as a tall and lanky black male, about 130 to 140 lbs, wearing a red hooded sweatshirt. A second suspect who is described as a black male, 5'3 to 5 5 , about 110-120 lbs wearing a green zipped jacket attempted to grab the victims wallet out of his back pocket. The victim told the suspect to get away , and the suspect punched him in the face. The suspect approached the second victim and attempted to get his wallet. This victim also refused to give his wallet as well. The victims said they were going to call the police and the suspect ran away toward Monroe Street.
The third incident occurred on Wednesday, November 28 around 3:20pm. The victim told officers that he was robbed by two black males, one wearing a black hoodie, a du-rag and black pants. This suspect is reported to be about 18-20 years old. The second suspect is described as a black male wearing a black jacket, black pants and bald headed. He is also believed to be between 18 to 20 years old.
The victim was walking down Mayo Street and saw a group of individuals near the intersection of Hunt and Mayo. As the victim entered the gate to Prairie Crossing Apartments, the two black males entered through a gate into Prairie Crossing and asked the victim for his wallet. One of the suspects reached into the victim's back pocket and took the wallet. He opened it and took the victim's money and gave the wallet back to the victim. They left toward the south out of Prairie Crossing. The victim in this case was not injured, nor was he threatened with violence.
Commerce Police urges anyone that walks in this area to use extreme caution.
Investigators are following up on leads in these cases, and ask that if anyone has any information in these cases to contact Det Steve Scott at 903-886-1139.