A Vista del Mar resident who unwittingly walked into a robbery in progress, on Wednesday night is now seeking the public's help, after his vehicle was used as the lone gunman's getaway car. Albert Hoare says he walked into the All In One Supermarket in Vista del Mar sometime after 8 in the night to purchase snacks for his kids who were settling in for a night of television. It was for him, however, a case of being at the wrong place at the wrong time, since a man who had just robbed the store of 3 cell phones and an undisclosed amount of cash was just exiting the store, making his getaway. Hoare tells us how his vehicle ended up being jacked!
Albert Hoare
"About 8:30 pm on Wednesday night I went into All in One Supermarket to purchase some stuff and on the way in I noticed that the place was being robbed and at the same time I notice that the robber came out and put the gun on me and told me to hand over my car keys. I was reluctant in giving him my car keys and he gun butt me and then I gave him the keys and he made go his escape in the vehicle. After talking to shop keeper he told me that the guy came to the shop on foot, there was no bicycle, no car waiting for him or nothing, so I suspect that it is somebody from the neighborhood."
Jim McFadzean
"What type of vehicle is your vehicle? And besides your vehicle what else did you lose?"
Albert Hoare
"The vehicle is a 1997 Burgundy Toyota Rav4 license plate-33238, my cell phone was also in the vehicle which I lost and some other personal stuff."
Jim McFadzean "Any idea what this person looked like, was he mask, unmask?"
Albert Hoare
"He had on a mask and his completion was fair about brown skin and he is about 6 feet tall slim built. I did not see any scars or anything that could help identify him, but that's about just all I could see."
Police reviewed the security camera footage of the incident and have already received some leads in their investigation. Anyone with information on the location of the stolen Toyota Rav is asked to call CRIMESTOPPERS AT 0-800-922-TIPS or 604-4207.
