Somebody had a busy night as three United Dairy Farmers locations in three neighborhoods saw armed robberies in three hours' time Thursday morning.
Police say an armed robber held up the UDF on Hamilton Avenue in Mount Healthy at 12:24 a.m. At around 3 a.m., police said an African-American man with a light to medium complexion walked in to the UDF on Glenmore Avenue in Westwood, showed a handgun and demanded cash.
Less than an hour later, a man walked up to the register at the UDF on Woodford Road in Pleasant Ridge, pointed a gun at the cashier and demanded money before running from the scene.
Police are comparing surveillance photos and investigating the possibility that the same suspect robbed the three locations. They say it's just the latest in a string of UDF robberies across Cincinnati that has police stepping up patrols around Tri-State UDFs.
Anybody with information is asked to call the Mount Healthy Police Department at 513-728-3183 or Crime Stoppers at 513-352-3040.
Mark Wilson, a spokesman for UDF, issued the following statement on Tuesday:
"First and foremost, we are always worried about the safety of our associates. We train our associates to always comply and do what the perpetrator asks in a robbery situation. We have been very fortunate that none of our team members, nor any customers have been hurt or injured in these incidents. Over the years, we have established great partnerships with local law enforcement in all the communities in which we have stores. Our internal corporate security team responds to each incident and works closely with local law enforcement to share a variety of evidence and video obtained from each location.
We have seen a significant increase in the number of robberies in the Cincinnati market for the last 30 to 45 days. As part of the normal rhythm of our business, we regularly review our safety/security policies and practices in the hopes of deterring and preventing robberies from occurring. All of our stores have multiple video cameras both inside and outside our locations and we always have at least two of our associates working at any time for added safety."
