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Police in four Mass. communities search for serial armed robber

CHELSEA, Mass. (MyFoxBoston.com) -- Police in several Mass. communities are searching for the person responsible for a series of convenience store robberies.

Investigators tell FOX 25's Bob Ward the suspect is very quick and is in and out of the stores in less than three minutes. He is also considered armed and dangerous.

"We are very concerned if we don't apprehend him sooner or later he's gong to keep doing this until he's arrested," says Chelsea Police Chief Brian Keyes.

Keyes says they are looking for an armed robber who just won't quit. He has struck at least five times at stores in Lynn, Chelsea, East Boston, and Everett. In all of the robberies, he either says he has a gun or shows the weapon to terrified clerks.

Chief Keyes says he considers the robber very dangerous, also saying he seems to be a desperate individual.

The robber hit one store on Broadway Street in Chelsea on Feb. 24 at 9 p.m. This store has an elaborate surveillance system that caught the entire robbery on video. He is seen wearing a hood and sunglasses as he enters the store, while the clerk is counting money in the lottery machine. The suspect immediately shows his gun and demands cash. When the clerk tries to hand the suspect a stack of ones, he makes it clear that the money isn't good enough and he wants it all.

"He's done this before. It's part of his M.O.," says Chief Keyes. "He knows they're going to give him $25 in ones."

The armed robberies in other convenience stores, including the most recent robbery at a 7-11 on March 10 in Everett, are similar. One major part of the robberies that police are focusing on is the suspect's clothing, mainly his jacket. The suspect's jacket appears to be turned inside out.

"The jacket in the first three, where it's inside out, you can see a diamond-shaped logo or some type of the design right under the tag, in the neck area," Keyes describes. "The most recent ones the jacket is all dark, so it may be the same coat. He wore it inside out in the first three. In the two most recent ones, he put it on the regular way."

Police in four communities are searching for the robber. If you recognize him, call police in Chelsea, Everett, Lynn, or Boston.