Iowa payday loan store gets jacked
The ski mask: Helping criminals get away with robbery for more than a century.
Robbers across the country are continuing to target payday advance loan stores. The latest incident happened in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. According to The Gazette, two robbers armed with handguns hit up a Money Station branch right after the store opened yesterday.
Police are seeking male and female suspects, who are described in The Gazette article, and ask anyone with information to call 1-800-CR-CRIME.
Spokane spree
Last week two payday advance loan stores in Spokane, WA, were robbed within hours of each other on Jan. 29. Police believe the same person, a white man in his 20s, is responsible for both crimes. One of those stores was targeted just the week before, and police are seeking the same suspect for that robbery as well.
Police make one arrest in Indiana
Two stores were hit in one day in Indianapolis as well. On January 19 the same two men robbed two payday loan stores within an hour. Indiana police arrested one man in connection with the robberies, and they are still seeking a second suspect named Eric Edwards, 23.
The missing piece: arrests
So, between Cedar Rapids, Spokane and Indianapolis, we have a total of six robberies in about two weeks. We also have a total of one arrest. This is particularly discouraging in the Spokane case, where it appears the same man robbed the same payday advance loan store twice and got away with it.
The one that didn’t get away
Last year in Birmingham, Ala., police had a little help tracking down a man who robbed an EZ Pawn PayDay Loans store. In that case, employees followed the robber outside and shot at him. He shot back, but he was the only one who ended up in the emergency room later that day. I bet the money he stole from that payday advance loan store could have helped a lot with his medical bills if he hadn’t gotten caught.
I hope they catch these creeps. There is a trend of a slightly increased crime rate during recessions, but it’s not like there’s any excuse for armed robbery. It’s flat out wrong, and while I do think it’s admirable that the EZ Pawn employees took care of a pest, as long as no one else was hurt.
And why are payday loan stores and pawn shops being targeted more lately? Because they’re in the news and on people’s minds. They’re popular. They aren’t going away, so tighter security and silent alarm systems similar to what big banks use should be commonplace, as well as a armed guard. Create more jobs, I say!
It seems everyone are targeting the payday loan industry; first the media, then the government and now robbers? The good are turning bad, and the bad are turning evil. I too hope they catch these crooks.