Police continue search for gunmen in violent Avenues robberies

The search continued Tuesday for three men whom investigators say went on a violent robbery spree Monday night.

During the robberies, one store clerk was pistol-whipped and another woman had a gun pointed at her head and was asked, "Do you want to die?"

The incident began when three men carjacked a SUV on Main Street and drove it to the Smith's Food and Drug store near 400 East and 6th Avenue.

Just before 7 p.m., the men who hijacked the vehicle each went into a different store just below Smith's. One went into Henrie's Dry Cleaning and another into Dollar Cuts. The man who walked into Henries later went into Subway next door.

Inside the stores, the men ordered the clerks to open their cash registers and give them money. Inside Dollar Cuts, the clerk thought the robbery was a joke and told the suspect he didn't know how to open it, said Salt Lake police detective Jared Wihongi. The suspect reacted by hitting the clerk on the head with a handgun, at which time the manager came out, opened the drawer and gave the suspect money, he said.

Outside the stores, a woman who had just gotten out of her vehicle, saw the armed men walking into Henries and Dollar Cuts and yelled for someone to call the police. Another man came up to the woman and took her purse. The woman began chasing the man, which prompted him to turn around, point a gun at her and ask her if she wanted to die, Wihongi said. The woman backed off at that point.

After the robberies, the men jumped into their carjacked SUV, drove to A Street and 2nd Avenue where they abandoned the vehicle and got into another white or cream colored SUV, Wihongi said.

The purse taken by the woman was later found discarded by West Valley police.

The suspects were described as Polynesian men who were wearing dark pants and had their faces covered. Detectives planned to conduct more interviews with victims Tuesday.

Anyone with information on the robberies or suspects can call Salt Lake police at 799-INFO.

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E-mail: preavy@desnews.com