Lompoc police looking for suspect in violent armed robbery
Lompoc Police are looking for a suspect in a violent armed robbery at a convenience store early Tuesday morning.
Police say just after 2:30 am a man wearing a dark bandana over the lower part of his face entered the 7-11 on North H Street armed with a large knife and a handgun.
Police say the store clerk was beaten to the floor as the suspect opened the cash register and made off with an undisclosed amount of cash.
The store clerk was not seriously hurt and was able to give police a description of the suspect.
A power outage at the time of the violent holdup prevented store security cameras from capturing the crime and the suspect on tape.
“We actually have not had anything similar to this at all as far as an armed robbery like this”, said Lompoc Police Sgt. Kevin Martin.
The violent, early morning armed robbery came as a surprise to regular customers at the popular convenience store and gas station on the north end of the city at H Street and Central Avenue.
“I’ve never like walked in there and thought, or been scared, that someone was going to walk in and possibly pull out a gun or anything like that”, said customer Andrew Pardini.
“That’s not usually a time that I’m out typically anyway”, said customer Amanda Robinson, “but I would say that’s kind of something that’s known about Lompoc in general is you don’t really want to be out late at night anyway.”
The suspect in the armed robbery is described as an Hispanic male, standing about 5’8 with a medium build and long hair. He was wearing dark clothing and a dark bandana at the time of the crime.
“There weren’t a lot of people around at the time so we don’t have a lot of witnesses”, Sgt, Martin said, “so we’re hoping someone in the community will step up and help us with information, they can give us anonymous tips through our (mobile phone) app, and help point us in the direction we need to go find the person responsible for this.”
Anyone with information about this armed robbery, or saw the suspect in the area when it happened, is urged to contact the Lompoc Police Department at (805) 736-2341 or on the tip line at (805) 875-8733.
