Robber politely opens door for woman — then robs her cousin, Columbus police say

A Columbus man suspected of several armed and attempted robberies politely opened a door for a witness in one case before pulling a knife and robbing her cousin outside a Brown Avenue store, police testified Wednesday.

They said Roderick Deangelo Hill was at the Citgo Food Mart, 645 Brown Ave., when two women were shopping there about 1 p.m. Aug. 16, 2017. The women had kids in the car, so first the mother went in to shop, then returned to the vehicle while her cousin went in after her.

The cousin was approaching the door when Hill opened it for her, then pretended he forgot something and did not enter, police said. Instead he went to the mother’s car, pulled out a knife he put to her breast and said, “Give me your bag or I’ll cut you,” detectives said.

He escaped with the woman’s Michael Kors designer purse with her cash inside, officers said.

Investigators said that happened two hours after Hill tried to rob the Shoe Show at 3759 Victory Drive, where he walked in, grabbed at his waist like he had a gun and told a clerk, “You know what this is?”

The clerk told him she had no key to open the cash register, and he said OK and left, detectives said.

Witnesses in both incidents picked Hill’s picture from photo lineups, police said.

On Aug. 18, 2017, Columbus police publicized surveillance photos and mugshots in an effort to locate Hill.

“Police believe Hill committed three attempted robberies and one armed robbery on August 16, 2017, on Victory Drive, Macon Road, and Brown Avenue,” they wrote in a news release.

The department’s Special Operations Unit caught Hill this past July 12 while netting seven suspects during a sweep of adult-entertainment businesses.

Officers said Hill tried to run away outside the Foxy Lady Lounge, 3023 Victory Drive, but they chased him down, charging him with obstructing police, first-degree burglary, being a felon with a firearm, two counts each of armed robbery and of using a gun to commit a crime, and three counts of attempted armed robbery.

This story was originally published July 18, 2018 at 2:41 PM.