Two bandits suspected in string of Fort Worth holdups

Bandits who robbed two Family Dollar stores Sunday are linked to least seven other holdups in the city since April 14, police said Tuesday.

In one of the Sunday holdups, an armed robber pointed a handgun in the cashier’s face as a family ran out of the Family Dollar at 901 Bridgewood Drive.

The robbers have targeted mostly Family Dollar or Dollar General stores in east and southeast Fort Worth during their string of holdups.

In the robberies, investigators believe one of the suspects walks into a business and robs it while a second suspect waits outside in a dark Chevrolet Suburban.

Detectives released surveillance photographs of the suspects late Monday in hopes that someone would recognize the robbers. The photographs were taken from surveillance footage.

Witnesses have described the suspects as men between 18 to 25 years old, 5-foot-8 to 5-foot-11 and weighing between 145 to 185 pounds.

The suspects have been armed with a handgun.

The most recent holdups occurred Sunday morning when the bandits robbed two Family Dollar stores within an hour.

The Family Dollar at 901 Bridgewood Drive was robbed about 11 a.m., just an hour after another Family Dollar was hit just four miles away, according to Fort Worth police reports.

Store manager Ruben Cabrao told the Star-Telegram Sunday that he was at church when he got the call and rushed to the store.

Surveillance footage shows a man pulling out a silver semiautomatic handgun upon walking in and then pointing it in the cashier’s face, Cabrao said.

A mother and father were the only customers at the time. They grabbed their little girl and ran out, he said. The cashier was the only employee in the front of the store.

The assistant manager was in the back, and the robber was inside for about three minutes, leaving little time for the other employee to witness the robbery, Cabrao said.

Cabrao said outside surveillance footage shows the man fleeing on foot to a getaway vehicle.

He said the suspect must not live in the neighborhood because he would have recognized him.

Officers responded to the earlier robbery at 10:03 a.m. Sunday at the Family Dollar at 6156 Ramey Ave.

A suspect in a gray shirt and black pants walked in and demanded money, according to a police report. An employee called to report that the store was being robbed and put the phone down.

Police continued their search for the robber Tuesday.

This report contains information from Star-Telegram archives.

This story was originally published May 3, 2016 at 3:08 PM with the headline "Two bandits suspected in string of Fort Worth holdups."