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The armed robbery of Country Mart in Arkansas City Sunday night was a well orchestrated event, according to Arkansas City Police Department Lt. Jeff Moore.
It appears it was well planned out and unrelated to the armed robbery of a Home National Bank branch last Wednesday, Moore said Monday morning.
"The whole event lasted only about 15 seconds," he said.
Three armed individuals wearing disguises entered Country Mart about 8:50 p.m and removed an undisclosed amount of money from a safe at the courtesy booth. A fourth person may have been waiting outside to drive the car they left in, Moore said.
One robber entered the customer service booth and went to the safe. One woman was working at the booth. Orders were given to the clerk but Moore said he could not go into detail into what was said.
"They brandished their fire arms," Moore said. No shots were fired. No one was injured, he said.
"It (The car) was apparently parked behind the store on A Street, toward the north end of the block," he said. "The vehicle left northbound on A street and traveled an irregular route through the northeast end of town, leaving a trail of discarded clothing.
"The suspects were throwing disguises out of the car as they were making their escape. They didn’t want to be caught with what they were seen wearing," Moore said.
The description of the car varies from dark-colored to silver and possibly a four door. The last article of clothing was located on Kansas? Avenue, by the greenhouse.
The robbers were seen going into and leaving the store by people who happened to be in the area at the time. There was a person who saw the activity and thought it suspicious and followed them for a few blocks.
It’s been difficult to determine if all three were males, although Moore suspects they were. It’s also been difficult to determine a racial description because they were wearing dark clothing – top to bottom. One had a hoody rolled down over the ears.
Another had a black bandanna over the face. They were also wearing white cotton gloves.
"We don’t know for a fact that we collected everything they threw out. Anyone at the east end of town who finds an article of clothing is asked to leave it alone – to not touch it – and contact the police department.
If you have information concerning this crime or any other crime, please call Crime Stoppers at 442-7777 in Ark City or 221-7777 in Winfield.
You may also submit information on line anonymously at www.tipsubmit.com. Just follow the prompts. You could be eligible for a reward and remain anonymous
