Police are investigating whether yesterday's robbery of a Brink's guard outside Chesterfield Towne Center is related to two similar holdups in Northern Virginia.
The guard, carrying a bag of cash, was leaving the mall's entrance off Midlothian Turnpike about 1:35 p.m. when he was accosted at gunpoint by two men, police said.
"They put [a gun] to his head and ordered him to the ground," said Chesterfield police Capt. Karl Leonard. They took the bag and fled, he said.
"We still don't have a good description of the two robbers," added Leonard, who said one was white and the other black.
The robbery occurred before the guard had walked back to his Brink's vehicle in the parking lot. No shots were fired, and neither the guard nor any of the mall's customers were hurt. The guard was armed, police said.
Because of security concerns, authorities typically don't disclose robbery amounts.
Leonard noted that "a very similar" holdup occurred March 13 outside the J.C. Penney at Spotsylvania Towne Center.
"We're not saying it's related, but it's awful similar," he said. "We're going to look at that to see if it's possibly related to ours."
In addition, another armored truck guard was robbed Oct. 31 at the Pentagon City Mall in Arlington County, Leonard said.
Closer to home, a masked man carrying an assault-style rifle robbed a Loomis, Fargo & Co. armed guard in February 2005 outside the Bank of America branch at 11682 W. Broad St. in Short Pump. The robber, along with a second suspect, crashed a stolen sport utility vehicle into the armored van before confronting the guard, who was returning with a bag full of money.
That robbery has not been solved.
