Police: Papa John’s robbery may be linked to other crimes

A Papa John’s restaurant was robbed Monday night, and police are looking into whether it is connected to a number of other recent crimes.

Two men wearing masks and carrying handguns came into the pizza business in the 5000 block of East Central about 8:15 p.m., Wichita police Lt. James Espinoza said. They demanded and received cash before leaving. The three employees in the business near Edgemoor were not hurt.

The incident was one of “a string of robberies in the area,” Espinoza said. “We need citizens’ help. We’ll continue to investigate these robberies” to see if they’re connected.

Among the other robberies is a holdup of the Subway at Central and Hillside about 8:45 p.m. Sunday, he said. The same eatery was robbed two weeks earlier, as were a couple of cellphone stores.

There’s no indication at this point that the robberies are becoming more violent, Espinoza said.

“They’re getting what they want and leave,” he said.

This story was originally published September 1, 2015 at 12:38 PM with the headline "Police: Papa John’s robbery may be linked to other crimes."