EUGENE, Ore. -- Facing a surge in armed robberies, police today released new images of suspects in some of the crimes.

More than 20 robberies of banks and businesses have been reported in Eugene since the start of September -- an average of one every four days.

“This is an unusually high number of robberies,” said Kerry Delf with the Eugene Police Department. Since Sept. 1, 22 banks and businesses have been robbed. During the same time period in 2007, only eight similar crimes were reported.

Not all of the robberies involved a weapon, but Delf said police are seeing an escalation in tactics. In some robberies, guns were brandished and victims were ordered to the ground and robbed at gunpoint. Some of the robberies took place with business patrons present.

“Those sorts of more aggressive tactics, we’re seeing more of those in the last couple months,” she said. 

Police need the public's help identifying suspects photographed by surveillance cameras.

“We don’t have a whole lot of cops per capita, so there is a case load strain,” Delf said. “They’re good at what they do, and they do try to work smart.” 

Anyone who recognizes any of these suspects or their clothing, or who has other information about any of the robberies, is asked to contact Detective Jeff Donaca at (541) 682-5193.

Oct. 11, 11:13 a.m. 
Elephant's Head Saloon, 4222 Commerce Street
The suspect in this robbery (in image at right) was described as a white male, about 5'8" tall.  He was wearing a black turtleneck, blue jeans, and a hooded blue jacket that had dark stripes down each sleeve.  His face was covered during the robbery, but a witness who spotted him as he uncovered his face afterward noted that he had a beard or goatee.

Oct. 15, 12:22 a.m.
Ashley’s Deli, 3165 West 11th Avenue
The Ashley’s Deli robbery suspect is described as a white male, about 6’ tall with a thin build (perhaps about 160 pounds). He was wearing a faded black hooded sweatshirt with an “X” chainlink design across the front and a zipper that went over the top of the hood, brown or grey utility-style pants similar to Carharts, and athletic shoes that were dark-colored with some white accents.  The suspect wore a "Jason"-style hockey mask during the robbery. 

Oct. 18, 3:02 p.m. 
Cricket Wireless, 1209 West 7th Avenue
This robbery suspect was described as a white male with grey hair, possibly in his 40s or 50s, about 5’9” tall with a thin build. He was wearing a dark-colored hooded sweatshirt with light-colored writing on the front, blue jeans, brown shoes, and a bandanna over his face.

Nov. 3, 7:07 p.m.
Dutch Bros. Coffee, 2720 River Road
This suspect is described as a white male, 40–45 years old, about 5'11" tall.  He had collar-length wavy brown hair and a mustache.  At the time of the robbery he was wearing a white baseball cap with the letter "O," a tan and brown plaid shirt, a light green undershirt and blue pants.

Nov. 9, 10:53 p.m. 
CJ's Deli, 2019 River Road
Suspect 1 is described as a white male in his late 20s to early 30s, about 5’10” to 6’0” tall.  At the time of the robbery he was wearing a dark green sweatshirt, blue jeans, a dark-colored ski mask, black sunglasses and gloves.

Suspect 2 is described as a white male in his 20s to 30s, about 5’10” to 6’0” tall.  At the time of the robbery he was wearing a grey hooded sweatshirt featuring the logo, "Abercrombie 146 Falcons,” blue jeans, gloves and a blue bandana over his face.