Police urge vigilance as they look for suspect in 3 Brookline street robberies

Brookline police are investigating three separate street robberies, which they believe were committed by the same suspect, according to a community notification posted by the department on Facebook.

The suspect has been described by all three victims as a 20- to 30-year-old man, about 5 feet, 8 inches tall, wearing a gray sweatshirt and gray sweatpants.

Police said the first incident happened around 8:30 p.m. on Jan. 28. As the victim was walking home on Kent Street, the suspect was walking in the opposite direction. Then, as the victim reached his front porch on Bowker Street, the suspect allegedly grabbed his shoulder and demanded all his money. The victim reportedly jumped over the front porch to escape while the suspect fled.

The second incident, police said, occurred the next day around 1:35 a.m. when a victim was approached by the suspect on Beacon Street, near the St. Paul Street intersection. The suspect reportedly asked the victim for a lighter before asking if he “wanted to go around the corner.”

After the victim took his lighter back and began walking away, the suspect followed, according to police, keeping one hand in his sweatshirt pocket to imply he was carrying a weapon while using his other hand to reach into the victim’s pockets, saying “you know what this is.”

The victim reportedly fled the situation without losing any of his valuable belongings while the suspect headed toward Coolidge Corner.

Police said the third incident took place around 1:55 a.m. near Beacon Street and Pleasant Street, where the suspect asked the victim for directions to a store.

Showing him the way, the victim walked with the suspect toward Harvard Street before the suspect allegedly elbowed him into a restaurant’s entryway, showed a knife, and demanded all his money.

The victim reportedly gave the suspect his money, and the pair walked back toward Pleasant Street, before the suspect fled toward Commonwealth Avenue.

Police said all three incidents are currently under investigation.

“We remind the Brookline community to be vigilant,” they said. “Be aware of your surroundings.”

Police ask that anyone who notices suspicious activity call their non-emergency line at 617-730-2222.

https://www.facebook.com/brooklinemapd/photos/a.186597814695608/2955701697785192/?type=3