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Serial armed robber sought

Section: Politics

Walt Philbin

Police believe the same man committed as many as a half-dozen armed robberies in Uptown neighborhoods over the weekend, three of them in a 30-minute span early Sunday.

A credit card stolen in one of the robberies was used at a Shell service station on South Carrollton Avenue, police said.

Investigators believe the same man committed the robberies because victims consistently described the robber as having two large moles on the side of his face, police said. In at least three of the crimes, the robber confronted victims early Sunday as they left bars: the Maple Leaf Bar on Oak Street and The Boot at Broadway and Zimpel Street.

In all of the crimes, the lone robber flashed a gun and took cash, but in three cases he also took vehicles, including a silver 2007 Honda Accord with a Tennessee license plate, and in another case a cellular telephone.

The crime spree began Saturday about 4 a.m. in the most atypical of the robberies: the gunman surprised a 21-year-old man getting out of a car and forced him into his home where the intruder took a television, a Play Station 3, and a wallet containing $120, in addition to the victim's vehicle.

Although victims did not see a car, police believe there is a possibility another man waited in a getaway car parked nearby. Here is a list of the six robberies by location, date and the time reported:

-- 2400 block of Calhoun Street, Saturday about 4 a.m.

-- Dante and Oak streets, Sunday, 2:46 a.m.

-- 1100 Dante, Sunday, 3:49 a.m.

-- Audubon and Freret streets, Sunday, 3:12 a.m.

-- 5300 block of Perrier Street, Sunday, 6:05 p.m.

-- 1800 block of Milan Street, Sunday, 6:20 p.m.

In addition to those robberies, police were investigating whether the same man may be responsible for gunpoint robberies at Maple and Lowerline streets Friday at 2:15 a.m.; at Burthe and Lowerline streets Friday at 3:40 a.m.; in the 800 block of Broadway where a Tulane student was robbed Wednesday about 11 p.m.; the 4500 block of Perrier Street where a man surprised a woman as she entered her home Dec. 10 about 9:30 p.m. and took $50 and her purse, and an attempted armed robbery at Prytania Street near Washington Avenue on Friday about 9:30 p.m.

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