Carroll County sheriff’s investigators responded to an armed robbery Saturday at the BP station at 1979 S. Highway 27 in Carrollton, but police said they don’t believe the robbery is related to the two armed robberies in Villa Rica on Nov. 20 and Nov. 21,

In fact, Capt. Shane Taylor said none of the three seem to be related.

“They initially don’t appear to be related,” Taylor said. “They have more differences than similarities.”

In the most recent armed robbery on Dec. 5 around 1:25 a.m., Taylor said a black man wearing a red hooded sweatshirt, blue jeans, gloves and a black ski mask walked into the convenience store carrying a black handgun.

When the man demanded money, the BP employee, who was the only one in the store, complied and opened the register.

The employee told police the man fled on foot toward Walmart, so when sheriff’s deputies arrived they used a K-9 unit in an attempt to follow the man’s tracks.

“We lost the trail at a point where he may have had a car waiting,” Taylor said.

During the first Villa Rica armed robbery on Nov. 20, a man walked into the Food Center Store at 1701 West Highway 78 at 8:45 p.m. with an empty gallon jug. The man told the cashier he needed to buy a gallon of gasoline and when the cashier opened the register, the man pulled out a gun and demanded money.

On Nov. 21, two men entered the Rite Aide pharmacy around 9 p.m., pulled out a gun and demanded money.

The black men suspected in the two Villa Rica robberies did partially cover their faces with hoods, but did not wear masks like the man involved in the Carrollton robbery.

Therefore, according to Taylor, there are still four men involved in armed robberies in less than a month at large in the Carroll County area.

Taylor said there has been an increase in armed robberies this year when compared with years past.

“This is more than we’re used to seeing,” Taylor said. “It has seemed to pick up recently.”

But Taylor didn’t cite the tough economy as the primary reason why the robberies have increased.

“I don’t think they were trying to buy extra Christmas gifts,” Taylor said. “Over the holidays, criminal behavior always picks up, possibly because people feel more depressed during the holidays. People might feel a little more reckless.”

Though there aren’t many ways to prevent late-night armed robberies, Taylor encouraged employees to be more aware of their clientele.

“Usually, employees pick those times to clean or re-stock, which could be distracting and make them more vulnerable,” Taylor said. “Also, if a company can afford to hire two employees to work the targeted shifts rather than just one, it could decrease the risk of a robbery.”