Market thief still on loose

Police are searching for a man they say stole a cash register and its contents while the clerk at a South Street store was busy in a back room Sunday evening, said Detective Sgt. Tim King.
The larceny of Village Market at 588 South St. was captured on video, which showed a white man wearing a gray or white sweatshirt, jeans and gloves, stealing the cash drawer, King said. Police have not determined an approximate age or height for the suspect, he said.
King did not disclose how much money was in the register.
No one else other than the clerk was in the store during the theft, which occurred about 6:30 p.m., King said.
``We don't believe it was the same guy'' who is thought to have committed a string of robberies in the downtown area while wearing a dark mask over his face, King said.
One reason, he said, is that the Village Market thief was not wearing clothing similar to that of the masked robber, King said.
``This seems to be a different set of circumstances,'' he said.
Police are still searching for the first suspect, who they believe robbed the River Street Food Mart at 220 River St. twice: once on Oct. 28, and again on Nov. 2.
A white, masked man, about 5 feet, 4 inches tall and in his 20s, wearing a dark, hooded sweatshirt robbed River Street Food Mart at 5:45 p.m. on Oct. 28, the Banks Square Shell station on Oct. 26 at 10:15 p.m. and the Shah Dollar Store at 368 Moody St. three hours earlier on Oct. 26, police said.
With the exception of Sunday's theft, each clerk has been a woman working alone, police said.
King said there has ``definitely been an increase in this type of robbery in the last couple months'' in the city.
``We absolutely have extra patrols in the area, and we've been in touch with many business owners and handed out fliers about the robberies. We've been very proactive,'' he said.
Police first want to make business owners and their employees aware that the crimes have been happening, and also provide them with a description of the suspect, he said.
``(We want to give the message) for them to be on their toes,'' King said.
Joyce Kelly can be reached at 781-398-8005 or jkelly@cnc.com <mailto:jkelly@cnc.com.