FRESNO, Calif. – Investigators in California are searching for a suspect who assaulted a cashier and robbed him, but it’s what he used to rob the clerk that’s getting attention.
At Madera Avenue Market nothing gets past Fnu Herbans Lal.
“I’m just watching the cameras, the people, new people, new guy,” Herbans Lal said.
He sees every corner of this store and after a recent attack, he’s paying even closer attention.
“Sometimes I work at night so I feel scared,” Herbans Lal said.
He’s said he is scared because of a suspect who used Mountain Dew as a diversion to steal hundreds of dollars.
Investigators said a man in his early-20s splashed the drink and then fumbled trying to grab the raining cash.
“I’ve never seen, in my time as an investigator, a person throw soda at a cashier in order to facilitate a robbery,” Madera Police Detective Shant Sheklanian said.
And that soft drink is also the reason why investigators say they’re having a tough time tracking down the suspect.
“After interviewing the cashier, we learned he had to clean up the soda and had wiped away the surface and any latent prints that had been left behind,” Sheklanian said.
Herbans Lal said he got away, but if there’s a next time the thief won’t be as lucky.
The suspect got away with $500 when he walked out of the store.
If you recognize him, the Madera Police Department said it would like to hear from you. You can remain anonymous.
