SWANTON, Vt. -
Vermont State Police say they are investigating a robbery at the Champlain Farms Shell gas station in Swanton.
Police say, a white male threatened a clerk with a crow bar. The suspect left on foot after taking an undisclosed amount of money and 4-5 packs of cigarettes.
The suspect is described as wearing blue jeans, a blue hoody inside an insulated blue plaid shirt, a dark colored winter hat, dark gloves, and a ski mask-type cover over his face.
The staff at the Champlain Farms say this robbery concerns them because it's not the first time it's happened there.
Police say this is the second robbery, the previous being on March 29, 2012. That makes at least five robberies in Swanton since September.
Down the street, the Sunoco was robbed in December. There was also the clerk at the Tractor Supply in Swanton who fought a would-be-robber in September and in November, a robber hit the People's United bank in Swanton.
"That was the one that was deemed the bike getaway bandit because he rode off on a pedal bike," says Chief Leonard Stell, Swanton Police Department.
Stell blames the rise in robberies on people desperate for drug money. He says all these crimes are taking a toll on the small police force.
"It takes time away from anything else a law enforcement agency would want to do on the street deterring other crimes," says Stell.
The good news is police say no one was hurt in Tuesday's robbery.
Detectives with the Vermont State Police Bureau of Criminal Investigation are investigating.
Anyone with information is asked to contact the Vermont State Police at at the St. Albans Barracks at (802) 524-5993.
