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© St. Petersburg Times, published October 22, 2001
SPRING HILL -- A liquor store and a gas station on Commercial Way were robbed Friday night, according to the Sheriff's Office. No one was hurt and authorities are searching for suspects.
Authorities believe the robberies could be related.
Shortly after 7 p.m., a man walked into an ABC liquor store at 4120 Commercial Way and asked the manager for a bottle of Jagermeister, according to an incident report. After helping him, the manager left the store.
A clerk, Robert Mengler, told authorities that he was standing behind the counter when he noticed the man was pointing a handgun at him. The gunman told Mengler to open the cash drawer or he would shoot him, according to a report. Mengler gave him cash from the register and some money out of his own pocket. The gunman then told Mengler to remove the videotape from the store's video surveillance machine, but Mengler said he couldn't remove it. The gunman ordered Mengler to wait in the back. After several minutes, Mengler dialed 911, authorities said.
Several minutes later, a nearby Amoco gas station called the Sheriff's Office. A clerk, John Nasser, told authorities that a mancame in and selected two pornography magazines, put them on the counter and then pulled out a pistol. He told Nasser to put all the store's money in a bag, authorities said.
As Nasser was loading cash into a brown paper bag, a woman entered the store and paid $5 for gas. The gunman told Nasser he would shoot him and the woman if the clerk said or did anything. Nasser made change for the woman from the money in the brown paper bag.