Robbers use 'psychic powers' to 'get into' clerk's mind, safe

By CAROL ROBIDOUX
New Hampshire Union Leader Staff
Wednesday, Sep. 26, 2007

MARLBOROUGH – Police are looking for help in solving a convenience store robbery Monday in which two men used distraction techniques and what the clerk described as "psychic powers" to "get into his mind" and somehow make off with a large amount of cash.

Marlborough Detective Steven E. LaMears said the clerk didn't realize until yesterday that he had been robbed by the two men.

"He was embarrassed to come forward at first," LaMears said.

"As he described it to me, he said it reminded him of when he would go overseas to his home in India and see the priests. He described it to me as 'getting into his mind,' in the same way as the priests do. I don't know a lot about the culture and don't fully understand it," LaMears said. "It's certainly a first for me."

The clerk, who is also a native of India, told police the men were of Punjabi descent, which describes a particular region of northern India. He told police the two men engaged him in conversation and asked him a series of questions. They appeared to know what the clerk was thinking during a series of quiz-like questions, and even revealed private personal information about the clerk through the course of their conversation.

"For example, he asked the clerk to think of a wild animal, and the clerk said 'monkey.' The man said that wasn't wild enough and asked the clerk to write down another answer. When the clerk wrote down 'lion,' the man showed him his own piece of paper, which also said 'lion,'" LaMears said.

A store surveillance tape of the encounter shows the two men interacting with the clerk, and at one point, one of them can be seen going into the back room, where the store safe is located, LaMears said.

Because the store is in the process of moving its office around, a full version of the tape won't be available to police for a few more days. "Once we have it, we're hoping to fill in some of the blanks," LaMears said.

Police were able to capture the robbers' images and shots of the parking lot. Based on what they have, they believe the two men were driving a white Acura with New York plates, with the last four digits of 1734.

Both men were described as bearded and wearing turbans, and weighing about 200 pounds. One of the men was described as 35 to 40 years old, the other was between 50 and 60 years old. Both men spoke in English and Hindi.