army judge
Super Moderator
- Jurisdiction
- California
SANTA ANA (CBSLA) — Pointing a gun right at a gas station clerk, a man in a traffic vest and a ball cap demanded money as his accomplice, wearing a mask, grabbed the cash.
"We're sitting here not knowing who's going to walk through that door," Elias Khawan, the owner, said.
The thieves, who did not initially raise the clerk's suspicion due to local orders for face coverings in light of the coronavirus pandemic, took off in a silver Nissan Altima last Friday at 2 a.m.
Khawan said he has never seen anything like it the 17 years he's run his Santa Ana gas station and convenience store. He said local face covering requirements put his staff in danger.
"It's horrible," he said. "I mean, I know we have to take certain measures because of what's happening with COVID-19, but it's the perfect script or manual for a robber — the mask, the sunshade and a hoodie. You don't know who's coming, who's walking in."
Khawan and his staff feel so unsafe that he has cut his hours from being open all night to closing at 10 p.m., a 25% hit to his bottom line. He has also added signs at his store prohibiting hoodies, backpacks and handbags.
Santa Ana PD: Robberies Increase By 50%, Suspects Using Face Covering Orders To Their Advantage
"We're sitting here not knowing who's going to walk through that door," Elias Khawan, the owner, said.
The thieves, who did not initially raise the clerk's suspicion due to local orders for face coverings in light of the coronavirus pandemic, took off in a silver Nissan Altima last Friday at 2 a.m.
Khawan said he has never seen anything like it the 17 years he's run his Santa Ana gas station and convenience store. He said local face covering requirements put his staff in danger.
"It's horrible," he said. "I mean, I know we have to take certain measures because of what's happening with COVID-19, but it's the perfect script or manual for a robber — the mask, the sunshade and a hoodie. You don't know who's coming, who's walking in."
Khawan and his staff feel so unsafe that he has cut his hours from being open all night to closing at 10 p.m., a 25% hit to his bottom line. He has also added signs at his store prohibiting hoodies, backpacks and handbags.
Santa Ana PD: Robberies Increase By 50%, Suspects Using Face Covering Orders To Their Advantage