Man robs San Jacinto Stater Bros. – flees with cash after firing gun
On-Scene Reporting: Hemet Eye News
Eddie George and Laurie Cain
SAN JACINTO – An unidentified gun-toting subject robbed a business before fleeing from the location – possibly on a bicycle – Saturday, April 30, sheriff’s officials confirmed.
Deputies from the Riverside County Sheriff’s San Jacinto Police Station responded to the Stater Bros. Market located in the 1200 block of North State Street, in San Jacinto at about 5:15 p.m., after receiving several 911 calls about the reported armed robbery.
Deputies arrived “within minutes” and set up a perimeter in the area and began searching for the alleged suspect.
The suspect, described only as a male adult wearing dark-colored clothing and concealing his face, “brandished a handgun, and demanded money from the checkout clerks,” according to Riverside Sheriff’s Sergeant Bill Guimont.
The suspect reportedly “obtained an undetermined amount of currency and fled the market,” Guimont explained.
Although deputies conducted a thorough search, with assistance from the sheriff’s helicopter, officials were not able to locate the suspect.
In interviews with Hemet Eye News reporters Eddie George and Laurie Cain, several witnesses described the harrowing ordeal and stated they not only saw the robbery and the suspect armed with a gun, multiple witnesses described seeing or hearing one or more rounds fired by the suspect from his weapon.
Some witnesses provided conflicting accounts of the suspects race and clothing description; however all agreed the suspect used a small, red BMX-style bicycle to prop open the door of the business, as well as a second bike hidden behind the business, to assist him in a quick getaway.
Several witnesses described seeing a money trail leading from the first and second registers heading out the door. The cash, which was reportedly dropped by the suspect as he ran out the front doors and around to the back of the business, was found in several places on the ground.
Several shaken witnesses described attempting to flee out the back door of the business, only to once again come face to face with the robbery suspect, who had fled around to the back of the store to flee on the second bicycle he had waiting for him. Some witnesses stated they saw the subject get onto a second waiting bicycle before fleeing the area.
One witness at the scene even found and recovered an unknown amount of US currency the robber dropped as he fled. The money was returned to the business.
The investigation into this robbery is ongoing and sheriff’s officials are seeking the public’s help in identifying and locating the suspect.
Anyone with additional information regarding this investigation is encouraged to contact Officer King at the San Jacinto Police Department by calling (951) 654-2702. Callers can refer to incident file number I161210071 and can remain anonymous. Citizens may also submit a tip using the Sheriff’s CrimeTips online form.
Contact the writer: [email protected]
