By: Mary Vitale
BROOKLINE – Around 8:30 p.m. on February 6th, Pramod Bawadi was working the night shift at the One Stop Market on Cypress Street when a man posing as a customer grabbed him from behind, put a knife to his throat and demanded all the market’s money. Bawadi, a 30-year-old resident of Allston, remains wary of customers entering the store.
“It’s been crazy,” he said. “Whenever a guy comes in now, I always immediately get nervous and wonder if he is really a customer or if he is going to try and rob me.”
Eight days later, less than a mile away at a Walgreens on Harvard Street, the store’s assistant manager was locking up for the night when a young man robbed him at gunpoint and stole money out of the cash register. Walgreens’ employees have refused to comment on the incident.
“At this point we do not believe the two robberies were related,” Captain John O’Leary said. “Different weapons were used in each incident and many characteristics about the way each robbery was carried out do not correspond with each other.”
There has been a steady decrease in Brookline crime over the past 10 years. About 1,297 Part A, violent crimes tracked by police, crimes were reported last year compared to 1,714 in 1998, according to the Brookline 2007 crimes statistics report. Violent crimes decreased 28 percent last year.
Armed robberies dropped 5 percent in 2007, however, they decreased the smallest amount compared to other categories of violent crime such as aggravated assault and rape. Residents and storeowners said they feel safe in Brookline, but say armed robberies are inevitable with Boston so close by.
Allen Macpherson owns a Philips TV and Video store directly across from Walgreens and said the recent robbery was a result of criminals having such close access to the businesses of Brookline.
“The Brookline police do a great job keeping us safe, but it is extremely easy for outside criminals to hop in a car, come into Brookline and quickly get back out again,” Macpherson said. “We’re really surrounded on all sides by West Roxbury, Brighton and Jamaica Plain.”
Purma Rajak, another cashier at the One Stop Market, said the store’s proximity to a major road leading in and out of Jamaica Plain leaves them vulnerable to quick and easy robberies.
“It can be a scary location,” Rajak said. “Cars are running all the time past the store and we are vulnerable to robbers who just quickly drive by from other areas and then maybe head back into Boston.”
O’Leary said the robberies may be connected with a crime that has committed other robberies in Brookline.
“We do not think they are residents, but know they have some sort of connections within the town,” he said. “Our location definitely makes us vulnerable to outside crime.”
O’Leary said Brookline police are working with police in Boston and Newton to solve robberies. However, he said robberies are extremely difficult to prevent.
“I don’t think there is really anything the police can do,” Bawadi said. “If someone wants to carry a weapon into the store and steal something, it usually happens in under five minutes. What can they really do to stop that?”
Business owners, including CVS manager and resident Gul Hassan, said they take precautions to protect themselves.
“If I’m here alone at night, I usually lock the door,” Hassan said. “We also installed an alarm system and security cameras, but that is about as much as we can really do.”
The Brookline police department has recommended some tips that may make stores less susceptible to armed robberies, including increased visibility inside stores so pedestrians can see if there is a problem, security cameras, keeping limited amounts of money kept inside the cash register at night, and always keeping doors properly locked after closing. O’Leary said the police department stresses cooperation when citizens find themselves a victim of an armed robbery.
“We ask all residents of Brookline to give into the robber’s demands when they ask for money,” he said. “In the end, it’s only money and it’s not worth getting hurt or killed over.”
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