SAN DIEGO (CBS 8) – Police are trying to determine if a series of armed robberies, occurring in Rancho Bernardo, Carmel Mountain and Escondido, are related.
Officers report they're investigating three robberies. The first took place around 6:30 p.m. Sunday, when police said a Hispanic man with a gun entered a gas station in the 11,000 block of Rancho Carmel Drive. However, the clerk refused to open the cash drawer and the suspect fled the scene with nothing.
Initial reports reveal the next robbery happened in Rancho Bernardo when two suspects, possibly men in dark clothing, held a female store clerk at gunpoint and robbed the Circle K convenience store and Mobil gas station at the 11,800 block of Rancho Bernardo. Officers arrived at the scene after 2:15 a.m., but the suspects had already fled with cash and other items. Police said they discovered money, including loose change and packages of cigars on the sidewalk. They gathered that evidence and interviewed the store clerk. The clerk said her nerves were rattled and shaken, but she wasn't hurt.
Moments later, Escondido Police reported a robbery at an AM/PM gas station on West Valley Parkway. They added that the two suspects fit the description of the suspects in the Rancho Bernardo robbery.
The suspects are described Hispanic men, 35 to 45 years old, standing 5'6" and weighing 145 pounds. The third suspect is described as 25 to 30 years old, standing 5'5" with a medium build.
If you have any information in this case, you’re asked to contact the San Diego Police Department.