Cameras Catch Fleeing Reservoir Ave. Shell Robber Unmasked

Cranston Police have released images of the suspect in the strong-arm robbery at the Reservoir Avenue Shell Thursday morning.

The man is described as white, standing about 5 feet 9 inches tall, weighing 190 pounds and wearing blue jeans, a black coat, black gloves and a ski mask.

Cranston Police Major Robert W. Ryan said the culprit tore off his mask while fleeing and a camera at a nearby business managed to capture an image of his face as he fled with the drawer in hand.

The suspect reportedly entered the Shell station at around 7:30 a.m. demanding all the money and went behind the register, where he pushed the clerk aside and grabbed the drawer.

He fled around the back of the building.

Another nearby camera captured a car that is believed to have been used to flee the scene. 

Uniformed officers and the Cranston Police Department K-9 unit responded to the scene.

Anyone who recognizes the suspect is asked to call the Cranston Police Criminal Investigations Unit at 401-477-5066.

It was the fourth robbery to hit Cranston in recent weeks. The Mobil on Elmwood Avenue was robbed by a man and woman in late December, the Shell on Pontiac Avenue was robbed by two men on Jan. 4 and the Taco Bell on Cranston Street was robbed by a man who brazenly went behind the counter and took a cash drawer on Jan. 6.

In the Pontiac Avenue Shell incident, police have arrested one man but another remains at large.