A 48-year-old La Puente man was arrested earlier this week when a uniformed police officer coincidentally walked into a convenience store while the man, armed with a handgun, was robbing the clerk, authorities announced Thursday.
The incident, which was captured on the store’s security cameras, unfolded on Jan. 17, according to West Covina Police Department.
Video shows the suspect, later identified as Ramon Gonzalez, approaching the counter of a local 7-Eleven convenience store where he asks the clerk to grab him a pack of cigarettes.
“As the employee begins placing the cigarettes into the plastic bag, the suspect lifts his sweatshirt, brandishes a firearm and demands the employee open the register,” police said. “Fearfully, the employee complies and begins placing money into the plastic bag.”
West Covina Police Sgt. Hernandez is seen on the video strolling into the 7-Eleven just as the 48-year-old suspect was gathering the plastic bag with the cash register’s contents, getting ready to leave.
“The suspect begins to walk toward the exit and as he does, the employee alerts Sergeant Hernandez of the robbery,” authorities said.
Reacting quickly, Sgt. Hernandez turns, draws his service weapon and chases the suspect as he tries to run out of the store and escape.
Once he was apprehended, a search of Gonzalez revealed a loaded firearm and an estimated $400 stolen from the 7-Eleven store.
Authorities said the 48-year-old was taken into custody and faces charges of robbery, felon in possession of a firearm and carrying a concealed weapon.
This is the second time in less than a week that a uniformed law enforcement officer unknowingly walked into a 7-Eleven store in L.A. County while an armed robbery was in progress.
On Jan. 13, security cameras at a 7-Eleven in Carson captured L.A. County Sheriff’s Deputy Luis Cisneros entering the store to buy a drink just as four armed suspects were attempting to rob two clerks at gunpoint.
There has also been a rash of robberies at 7-Eleven stores across Los Angeles and Long Beach, though authorities have not said whether those incidents are related.