Fourth west side Iowa City robbery reported

IOWA CITY — Another armed robbery has been reported at a west side Iowa City business, the fourth such incident in just more than two weeks.

Police say the victims this time were employed at McDonald's, 2440 Mormon Trek Boulevard. Officers were called to the business at 12:57 a.m. Thursday for a report of an armed robbery and were informed that employees of the restaurant were leaving when the suspect approached them with a handgun and forced them back inside at gunpoint. The suspect then forced the victims to hand over cash and property before fleeing, police said.

No one was injured during the robbery, authorities added.

The suspect is described as a 6-foot-tall, slender, black man wearing a black hoodie, black gloves, sweat pants and a black and white mask covering most of his face.

Iowa City Police Sgt. Paul Batcheller said the suspect's description and method of the robbery fit the same general descriptions of three other recent armed robberies on the west side of Iowa City, but he could not say with certainty that the four robberies are related.

'Everything looks consistent with the others, but there's nothing to concretely link them together,' Batcheller said Thursday. 'It sure looks similar.'

On Wednesday, July 20, Iowa City police responded to an armed robbery at First American Bank, 640 Highway 1 W. On Saturday, July 23, an employee at Culver's, 710 Highway 1 W, reported being approached by an armed subject while taking out the trash that morning. The victim told police he was forced at gunpoint back into the restaurant, but managed to lock himself inside an office.

4 robberies in Iowa City since July 20

A similar robbery occurred around 1:18 a.m. on Monday, July 25, at Pancheros, 965 Riverside Drive. The victims in that robbery told police they were approached by an armed man, forced into the store and made to turn over cash and property.

Batcheller said police have stepped up patrols around opening and closing times for businesses in the area. He said employees should stay vigilant and suggested they stay in groups and check their surroundings before leaving the business.

In addition to rewards offered by CrimeStoppers of up to $1,000 for information leading to arrests in these cases, First American Bank officials are offering a reward of up to $5,000 for information leading to an arrest in their robbery.