Police in Skowhegan are investigating a report of a robbery in which a cellphone and money were taken from a man getting out of his car on Poplar Street on Thursday night.
Though the robber Thursday didn’t have a weapon, the robbery was similar to an attempted robbery that happened Nov. 11 at the United Steelworkers hall on U.S. Route 201, in which a man with a knife approached a victim who was in a car and demanded money, said Skowhegan Police Chief Ted Blais.
In both the Nov. 11 attempted robbery and Thursday’s, the victim was in a parked car when approached.
It also follows a Nov. 26 report of a burglary and attempted robbery on Mount Pleasant Avenue.
“It’s just awful how this is continuing to happen,” Blais said on Friday. “It’s not something that happens on a regular basis and I’m hoping that once the individual or individuals involved have been caught things will settle down.”
Police were called to the Poplar Street robbery about 7:50 p.m. Thursday.
A man was getting out of his car when the robber approached him and demanded his money and cellphone, police said. There was no weapon involved and no verbal threats were made, Blais said. The man handed over the money and cellphone.
“It scared him,” Blais said. “He was just getting out of his car. No verbal threats were made, he just demanded money. His mannerisms were very demanding.”
After the robbery, the robber ran toward Waterville Road, which is Route 201, Blais said.
He was described as a white man approximately 5 feet, 10 inches tall, stocky, in his 20s, and wearing a red and silver ski jacket.
Deputy Sheriff Dave Cole of the Somerset County Sheriff’s Department responded and his tracking dog followed the robber’s scent from Poplar Street toward Waterville Road, but then lost the trail, Blais said.
He said people should be aware of their surroundings, try to stay in well-lit areas and report suspicious activity to police.
There have been no charges in either the union hall parking lot attempted robbery or the Mount Pleasant Avenue home invasion.
There also have been no charges in an attempted robbery in October at the West Front Street Market. That case also involved the use of a knife.
“We’ve followed many leads, but they’ve all reached dead ends at this point,” Blais said.
Charges of robbery and theft could be levied in relation to Thursday’s robbery.
Police asked that anyone with information about the case to contact the Skowhegan Police Department through the Somerset County Communication Center at 474-6386.
Rachel Ohm — 612-2368
Twitter: @rachel_ohm
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