ALBANY, Ga. (WALB) - Dougherty County Police Department (DCPD) officers are actively searching for a suspect who robbed the Pitt Stop gas station on Sylvester Highway Thursday afternoon.

Police said the suspect went inside this store, bought a lighter and left before coming back to rob the store. As strange as it sounds, DCPD Detective Melvin Stultz said this kind of crime is not uncommon.

“[Suspects] come in, purchase something, get a look at the store, scope out who’s there, and then they leave,” Stultz said. “It may take them a day or two for them to come back, but it’s common.”

Surveillance footage shows the moments a masked suspect stole cash from the register before leaving.

Reactions from customers like Henry Lewis have gone from shocked to grateful no one was hurt.

“I just thank God [the clerk] was calm, and she let them do what they wanted to do because you can replace [money], but you can’t replace your life,” Lewis said.

The Pitt Stop’s last robbery was in 2018, and the district manager Ernest Mitchell said this was the first robbery to happen in the middle of the day. It shook up the clerk so much that she no longer works at the location that was robbed.

“I try to teach my employees just to let them have the money. Don’t fight them because we can replace that money, and we will get them later. You’re going to get caught. We have very good camera systems here, and we will catch you,” Mitchell said.

The Pitt Stop is back open and ready for customers, but Mitchell said after this incident, they plan on prohibiting customers from wearing face masks inside the store

Police are still searching for a person of interest, and if you have any information that could help the police in their investigation, you’re encouraged to reach out to the DCPD at 229-430-6600.

Previous coverage:

• Police investigating armed robbery at Dougherty County gas station

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