Suffolk News-Herald

A masked bandit is being sought in connection with the armed robbery of a West Washington Street business. The suspect is considered by Suffolk Police to be a firearms risk, violent and a drug user.

Suffolk Police Information Coordinator Mike Simpkins said warrants are on file for the suspect, Christopher Wesley Mayes, a 23-year-old black male with a last known address of 104 Hopemont Lane. His date of birth is May 26, 1980. He is described as 5’8&uot; tall, &uot;extremely stocky,&uot; black hair, brown eyes, and witnesses told police he was wearing brown or khaki-type pants and a white shirt, possibly with stripes around the sleeves.

Simpkins added that the suspect was also wearing a dirty white &uot;du rag&uot; tied loosely around his face. He also has a tattoo of a skull and spinal bones on his arm.

According to Detective A.M. Wilson, who secured the warrants for Mayes’ arrest, the suspect entered the Beauty Stop of New York demanding money. When the clerk advised him there was no money, the suspect became angered and produced a small handgun, brandishing it at the clerk.

Wilson’s report says the man then pushed and shoved the clerk to the cash register, forcing her to open it. At that time, he reached in and removed an undisclosed amount of currency, then calmly walked out the door and into the Washington Square Mall. He exited the mall through a rear door into the parking lot.

Anyone who knows the whereabouts of Christopher Wesley Mayes is asked to call Suffolk’s Crime Line at 539-1222. If a caller’s information leads to an arrest, the caller is eligible for up to $1,000 from Crime Line. Callers do not give their names and they do not testify in court.