By Mark LaFlamme,Staff Writer

LEWISTON – A Big Apple store clerk was robbed by a man with a knife early Tuesday, the second time the chain has been hit in less than two weeks.

Police were searching for a suspect who fled on foot with a small amount of cash after threatening a store clerk at about 3:45 a.m.

Nobody was hurt in the heist at the 1198 Lisbon St. store. Police working with a description of the suspect created a composite sketch which they were circulating Tuesday afternoon. Detectives said they have solid leads in the robbery.

The store clerk who was threatened with a knife described the suspect as a black or Hispanic man between 200 and 225 pounds and about 30 years old. He was said to be sporting a goatee and wearing a bandanna. The victim of the robbery also told police the man’s nose was crooked.

“It looked like his nose had been broke in the past,” said police Lt. Michael McGonagle.

By Tuesday night, the suspect remained on the loose. Also at large was a suspect accused of robbing the Big Apple on outer Lisbon Street earlier this month.

In that heist April 3, a man described as Hispanic with a goatee threatened a store clerk with a knife before running toward the back of the store.

Police scoured the area around the store but failed to capture the suspect. Investigators on Tuesday were exploring the possibility that the two robberies were committed by the same man.

Anyone with information about either hold up is asked to call police at 784-6422 or 795-9000.