Rock Hill police say suspect who ‘didn’t want to hurt’ store employee steals $1,500

Police say they are searching for a suspect in connection with an armed robbery Saturday morning at a Dollar General store on Ebenezer Road in Rock Hill.

According to a Rock Hill police report, the suspect stole nearly $1,500 from the store, then left the scene in a white Nissan Altima.

Police say the suspect was described as an older black man, wearing a gray ball cap, a gray jacket, a white T-shirt and white pants. The report states that officers were able to find video of the incident and place it into evidence.

According to the report, the male suspect walked into the store around 8:30 a.m. Saturday and demanded that an employee open the register. The suspect stole $1,475.69, the report states.

Police say the man demanded that the employee open the safe, but she told him that the safe was on a timer and that she could not open it. The employee then put the money into Dollar General bags for the suspect.

The employee told police that the suspect kept saying he “didn’t want to hurt her” while reaching in his waistband, a report says. The report states that the employee never saw a gun, but that she believed the suspect had one by the way he was acting.

A witness later told police that she saw the suspect leaving in a Nissan Altima with a paper tag, and driving toward the hospital. An employee advised an officer that there have been other robberies in Pageland and Lancaster with a suspect matching the description and same type of vehicle, the police report says.

The case remains active.

This story was originally published October 16, 2017 at 11:50 AM with the headline "Rock Hill police say suspect who ‘didn’t want to hurt’ store employee steals $1,500."