WINDSOR – ‘Tis the season – for robberies.

For the third time in two weeks, a Red Apple Market (convenience store) has been robbed in the Roanoke-Chowan area. The latest heist occurred here Sunday night on US 13 North where two masked gunmen made off with an undisclosed amount of cash.

Ironically, the other two heists also occurred on a Sunday – the first on Nov. 30 at the Red Apple Market located just north of Ahoskie on US 13 while the other came just last week (Dec. 7) at the Red Apple in Winton. A lone gunman was allegedly involved in the Ahoskie heist, but the Windsor robbery bore a striking resemblance to the Winton incident where two males, one armed with a handgun and the other with a rifle, robbed that store shortly before closing time.

In the most recent robbery, Windsor Police Chief Rodney Hoggard reported that two males entered the store at around 8:45 p.m. Both were dressed in black and each had their faces covered and were wearing toboggans.

&uot;The best we can tell from the information gathered from the two store clerks on duty was that one male, armed with a rifle, took a crouched position down the first aisle of the store while the other male, armed with a handgun, approached the cashier, jumped over the counter and demanded money,&uot; said Chief Hoggard.

Hoggard went on to say that after handing over the money in the cash register, both clerks were ordered to lie on the floor – again a similarity to the Winton robbery.

&uot;Neither of the clerks were able to see how the suspects fled the scene, but we do have information from another witness that a dark-colored, perhaps burgundy, Honda Accord drove into the store’s parking lot and picked-up the suspects,&uot; stated Hoggard. &uot;The witness reported seeing the car leaving the scene onto Hoggard’s Mill Road.&uot;

The suspect that approached the counter was described as a black male, approximately 5′-6&uot; to 5’-7&uot; with a slim build. He was wearing a black jumpsuit and a gold chain. The clerks could not identify the race of the other suspect, but did say he was slightly smaller in build than the one that approached the cashier.

Neither of the clerks were injured.

Hoggard urged anyone with information on the robbery to contact the Windsor Police Department at 794-3111 or the Bertie County Sheriff’s Office at 794-5330.

Meanwhile, Winton Police Chief Larry Belangia said he would contact Chief Hoggard to follow-up on the similarities between the two robberies. Chief Belangia added that he was still checking out leads on the Winton heist.

&uot;We need to get these individuals off the street and behind bars before an innocent victim is injured or killed,&uot; said Belangia.