Police: Armed robber strikes twice in Upper Darby

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Upper Darby police are searching for an armed robber who struck twice in four days.

Surveillance cameras were rolling inside the S&L Deli in Upper Darby Tuesday afternoon when a robber burst in and blasted Winton Hermanez in the face. On Wednesday, he was still sporting a red eye.

"He come right here. He punch me in the face two times. He say put the money in the bag," Hermanez told FOX 29.

"In both incidents. He don't care. He just walks right in, does his thing, kicks the door in, and walks out without blinking an eye," Upper Darby Police Superintendent Michael Chitwood said.

Video caught the whole robbery and the suspect's escape. Police say the same knife-wielding bandit struck a few blocks away just four days earlier at the SMS Convenience Store owned by Gurpreet Kaur

Superintendent Chitwood says the bandit took $500 in the first robbery at SMS and a couple hundred dollars at the S&L Deli in addition to lottery tickets.In both robberies, he was dressed exactly the same, according to police.

"The cameras were able to get him taking his mask off and we get a pretty good picture of him," he said.

Both store owners and employees say they were stunned by the robberies and worried the suspect might come back. Police believe he cased both stores before he robbed them.

Superintendent Chitwood is concerned the violence could escalate if the suspect gets more desperate for money.

"We want to get him off the street before somebody gets seriously hurt," he explained.