It's the scary movie that no one wants playing at their local video store.

David Fogtman was pistol-whipped when he tried to help a co-worker during a robbery May 31 at a Columbia Township video store. (Michael E. Keating photo) | ZOOM |

        Robbers — armed, brazen and sometimes violent — have held up five Greater Cincinnati video stores in less than a month, often in affluent neighborhoods.

        Police investigators say the robbers may be part of a ring systemically hitting chain video stores during evening hours.

        Of the five retail outlets robbed within the last month, four were Blockbuster Video stores and one was a Hollywood Video outlet. At the latter, a store employee was pistol whipped May 31 and hospitalized.

        Before the recent robberies, video store holdups were “about nonexistent” in Greater Cincinnati, said Steve Barnett, spokesman for the Hamilton County Sheriff's Office. Police agencies are coordinating their investigations to determine if the same robbers are involved in all the robberies, he said.

        David Fogtman was working his first shift at the Hollywood Video store at 5471 Ridge Ave. in Columbia Township when three men dressed in dark colors and carrying guns entered the store.

        The robbers pushed and hit a young female clerk and when Mr. Fogtman, a father of five, jumped in to intervene, one of the gunmen behind him smashed the butt of a handgun into his skull.

        “I was knocked completely out,” said Mr. Fogtman, who recently moved his family from Tennessee to Cincinnati.

        The 26-year-old store employee said he worries about workers and customers in other video stores.

        In recent weeks, Blockbuster Video stores were robbed in Hyde Park, Kenwood, Blue Ash and North College Hill.

        About 10:30 p.m. Monday, three men carrying handguns entered the Blockbuster Video at 9511 Kenwood Road in Blue Ash. Unlike the earlier Hollywood Video robbery, where there were only two customers present, there were nearly a dozen people inside or near the store during the theft.

        No one was hurt, but the boldness of the robbery surprised many in the middle- to upper-income community, said Blue Ash Police Sgt. Jim Schaffer.

        “We don't have the number of robberies that many communities have, so any robbery or violent crime does shock” the community, Sgt. Schaffer said.

        But it is also the type of business being targeted that is disconcerting for some, he said.

        In many communities, video stores are considered safe enough for customers to linger and browse into the evening, and children are sent unattended to drop off or pick up a video.

        Robert Evans of Oakley said there should be concern.

        “If I had kids, I'd be more cautious about letting them go into a video store,” said Mr. Evans as he stood inside the Hollywood Video in Columbia Township.

        Local Blockbuster store managers declined to discuss the robberies, deferring all questions to its Dallas-based headquarters. Blockbuster Inc. spokesman Blake Lugash said the retail chain tries to provide “a secure environment in our stores”

        The recent thefts “definitely has us reviewing our store procedures and policies,” said Mr. Lugash, declining further comment.

        Mr. Barnett said the similarities of the video store robberies include:

        • All robbers wear dark clothing.

        • Usually at least one of the men is armed with a handgun.

        • The crimes generally occurred in the evening near closing time.

        Anyone with information about any of the robberies can provide anonymous tips to Crime Stoppers 352-3040.
       

Airport tackles runway safety
$1.4B may not be enough
Ohio justices defy convenient labels
UC tuition will rise by 8% in fall
A boost for home buyers
Cities say rules thwart growth
Clinton visits Dayton to accept peace prize
Cops take it where crime happens
Doctors rally against concealed carry
Dulcimer picked as official Ky. instrument
Fair's touchy about animals
Grand jury will hear Lebanon case
Group moves to scrap city's civil service rules
Hospitals won't get Medicaid raise
Kenton teachers get 7% hike
Low-income housing would be controlled
Nature Conservancy buys more land along palisades
No sex indictment against teacher
Ohio PTA award announced
Outside auditor to watch ballpark
Proposal for video slots at racetracks dies in committee
Protester on trial for fest disruption
Officer Roach trial scheduled for Sept. 17
School gets 2nd inspection
Silverton development group launched
United Way pledges other help
Video store bandits use the same script
Welfare reform spending in danger
Worms sicced on Ky.'s coal scars
Kentucky News Briefs
Tristate A.M. Report