Police look into possible link in Beaufort-area armed robberies involving assault

Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office is investigating a possible connection between two recent violent armed robberies and two that happened last month in Burton, Maj. Bob Bromage said.

In each of the four cases, Hispanic men were robbed by a group of men wearing all black and driving what has been described as a red or burgundy Jeep Cherokee or Four Runner. In three of the robberies, victims were struck in the head with the butt of a long gun.

Three men were robbed of their wallets Friday night about 11 p.m. while sitting in a yard on Eagle Ridge Road in Burton.

The victims told police three to four men jumped out of an SUV yelling words they didn’t fully understand, but they knew the suspects were demanding money.

Two of the men told police the butt of a long gun was used to strike them in the back of the head. Deputies called EMS to look at the wounds.

About 30 minutes later, at 11:30 p.m., two men were standing in a yard about 1.7 miles away on Joe Frazier Road when a red SUV stopped in front and men with guns jumped out.

One of the victims tried to run, but an assailant grabbed him, the report says. The robbers took wallets from both men and the phone from one.

On June 14, also a Friday, two men were robbed and assaulted in separate incidents with similar details within about an hour of each other on County Shed Road and Eagle Ridge Road in Burton.