There was an armed robbery last night at the Buca Shell Gas Station at mile 2 on the Northern Highway. It is major news because that very same gas station was robbed a week ago. The difference this week is that robbery was all caught on camera and more importantly - the men believed to be the accused robbers are in police custody. Keith Swift has the surveillance tape and the story.
Keith Swift Reporting,
The time on the clock was 7:53 pm and it took less than 30 seconds – just half a minute - for the two men dressed in black, one of whom hid a gun, to quickly enter the store, approach the casher and with a gun in his face – demanded “everything now.” The cashier raised his hands in the air and complied. The accomplice grabbed all he could from the cash register and both men ran out as fast they came in.
But they couldn’t run from an eyewitness who was passing the area at the time who called police. He saw them speed off in a ford escort and followed them, all the way from the gas station at mile 2 on the Northern Highway to the corner of Meighan Avenue and St. Thomas Street where police made an arrest.
Clemente Palacio, Police Press Officer
“Quick police response led to the interception of the vehicle in the King’s Park area. In the vehicle were persons who were detained pending investigations for robbery.”
Keith Swift,
“We understand it was someone who trailed the vehicle after it left Shell. Is that the information you have?”
Clemente Palacio,
“Police were the ones who intercepted these persons, whether or not there were any other person I think that even if the police received help we are not going to let out that detail.”
Last night’s robbery was the second in a week at Buca Shell. On September 1st robbers stole just over $300 in an armed holdup and last night they stole just over $200.
Clemente Palacio,
“We note that whenever there is a time for celebration, I think that some of these culprits are again wanting for finances and I think the business community will normally have to react and to take precautionary measures to ensure the safety of their cash and property and again we would encourage them not to store a lot of cash. Again I must add that police recovered some of those monies found, it was not a large amount of cash anyway.”
Those four suspects are still detained and the ford escort they were in has been impounded. While police have downplayed the importance of the good Samaritan, the gas station manager was grateful because were it not for that driver who followed the getaway car all the way to Meighan Avenue, it would have been difficult for the police to track them down. They don’t know his identity but the store manager wanted to express her appreciation for his help.
