After pistol-whipping a female employee at a west Phoenix Quiznos on January 11, it seems the serial armed-robbery suspect police have dubbed "Shy Guy" isn't too sheepish anymore.
Phoenix Police Sergeant Trent Crump said during a press conference Thursday that he believes the same man has committed 14 different robberies in Scottsdale, Phoenix, and Glendale.
Crump says detectives gave him the nickname when he "started out polite and quiet with demands," and would even dine in the fast-food restaurants just prior to robbing them.
Now, Crump says, he's "progressively gotten more violent," and has forced store clerks to lie on the floor and threatened to shoot them, in addition to his pistol whipping of the Quiznos worker.
"Shy Guy," who usually nets a few hundred dollars while holding up fast food restaurants and shoe stores at gunpoint, has robbed stores as far north as Bell Road in Scottsdale, as far east as 90th Street in Scottsdale, as far south as Broadway Road in Phoenix, and as far west as 59th Avenue in Glendale, Crump says.
In an attempt to shield his identity, "Shy Guy" has made store clerks empty surveillance tapes from the stores, although due to the existence of numerous videos and stills of him committing robberies, Crump says "he's not doing a very good job at it."
The robberies, which police say began on December 7, are now increasing in frequency -- sometimes back-to-back -- and police are going public to try to identify the suspect.
Police describe "Shy Guy" as a black male between 25 and 35 years old, 5-foot-8 to 5-foot-10, 180 to 190 pounds, and sometimes with a goatee.
He has a tattoo of a barcode on his left hand and another tattoo on his left wrist, in addition to what police say is either a small tattoo or birthmark on the right side of his neck.
Police urge anyone with information to call Silent Witness at 480-948-6377.
