A masked man pulled off Interstate 80 in Rawlins, Wyoming, on Monday night, flashed a handgun to the cashier at the Stinker Travel Plaza, stole cash from the register and a bag of beef jerky — then vanished, police say.
The armed robbery was reported from the Stinker store at about 8:25 p.m. on Airport Road, according to a statement the Rawlins Police Department released shortly after.
The suspect was described as an African American male wearing tan pants, a face mask, black shoes and a grey hoodie bearing an image of three faces, the statement says.
It adds that he entered the store, displayed a handgun to the cashier, stole cash and a bag of beef jerky. Then he got into a dark-colored vehicle and fled eastbound on Cedar Street toward Interstate 80.
Rawlins PD is asking for help identifying the suspect.
The security videos showing him pull up to the Stinker and pull away from it after the robbery were taken after dark and don’t show much. The getaway car was a vehicle with headlights; it appears to be dark-colored, but that’s all police know about it, Rawlins Police Chief Mike Ward told Cowboy State Daily in a Tuesday phone interview.
“We have pretty good pictures of the suspect. We believe he was traveling through, not from the area,” he said. “We’re trying to get the pictures out as widespread as possible in the hopes another law enforcement agency recognizes the suspect and the (method of operating) … or someone from the public recognizes (him) and contacts us.”
Ward said this is the first armed robbery he’s encountered since he came to the department three years ago.
It is not helpful to the investigation at this point to tell the public how much money the suspect stole, Ward continued, but “you can imagine it’s not that much, out of a cash register.”
City of Rawlins spokeswoman Mira Miller dispatched another statement Tuesday, saying the suspect vehicle’s distance from the security camera also prevented clear video shots of it.
“It is believed he exited the interstate, committed the robbery, and immediately fled onto the interstate,” Miller wrote.
The alert about him has been distributed “region-wide,” she added.
Wyoming Highway Patrol and Carbon County Sheriff’s Office are also helping with this case.
Clair McFarland can be reached at clair@cowboystatedaily.com.
