
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: MONDAY, May 7, 1990                   TAG: 9005070307
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: A5   EDITION: EVENING 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Short

5 ROBBERIES AND BEATINGS ARE REPORTED

Five people reported to Roanoke police that they were robbed or beaten over the weekend in places that ranged from an open-air crack market to a toy store.

Police are investigating the following reports:

A Northwest Roanoke man said he was driving down the 700 block of Hunt Avenue - an area of frequent drug dealing - about 3:30 a.m. Saturday when four men stepped into the path of his car, pulled him from the vehicle and beat him.

A 57-year old woman said a man came up to her at 5th Street and Shenandoah Avenue, placed a piece of broken glass to her side and demanded money. After begging the man not to harm her, the woman gave him about $200.

After arranging to sell a television and a VCR to a man, a robber pulled a gun and demanded money from the would-be purchaser. The robber, who took about $225, said he needed the money for crack cocaine.

A 10-year-old boy told police that four teen-agers blocked the aisle at the Toys R Us store on Valley View Boulevard Sunday and demanded money from him. After taking $10, the youths left arguing over how the money should be divided.

A 14-year-old boy was walking down the Boulevard when a car stopped and two men got out and beat him, he told police.

by CNB