LEWISTON – Police searched several sections of the city Tuesday night after a pizza delivery man reported he was robbed by a man who held a knife to his throat on Elm Street.
Officers searched the downtown area around Oak and College streets after the robbery was reported about 7 p.m. Others went to the area of Pleasant Street and South Avenue after a man matching the description of the attacker was reported seen in that area.
Police said their investigation into the heist was hampered by a delay in the reporting of the robbery. Investigators said the delivery man drove back to Domino’s Pizza on School Street in Auburn before contacting police.
The victim of the attack said he was approaching his vehicle outside 79 Elm St. when a man rushed up behind him, placed a knife against his throat and demanded money. The delivery man told police the attacker then fled between apartment houses with a handful of cash.
Police did not say how much was taken in the robbery. It was believed to be less than $100.
Around the same time the stickup was reported, an employee at the Getty Mart at South Avenue and Lisbon Street called police to say a man was acting strangely at the store. The person described in that incident fit the description of the man said to have committed the robbery on Elm Street.
The robbery suspect was described as wearing a blue winter hat pulled down low, a dark hooded sweatshirt and dark pants.
As some officers scoured Elm Street, others worked their way from the South Avenue to Pleasant Street, where a man matching the description was found walking. That man was stopped and questioned but later released.
Police spoke with several people about the heist, but no arrests had been made by late Tuesday night.
The delivery man went to the police station to give a statement and a description of the suspect. Detectives working the case created a composite drawing, which was being circulated Tuesday night.
Police said it was too soon to say whether the Tuesday night heist had any relation to recent bank robberies in Lewiston and Auburn. Last Monday, Northeast Bank on Lisbon Street was robbed by a hooded man who displayed no weapon. Over the weekend, TD Banknorth inside Shaw’s Supermarket in Auburn was held up in a similar fashion.
No arrests have been made in the previous robberies.
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