Masked gunman robs North County gas station
Days after a brazen armed robbery at an Atascadero Chevron, a masked man with a handgun made off with an undisclosed amount of cash in an early Monday morning robbery of a Paso Robles gas station.
About 1:25 a.m., the Paso Robles Police Department responded to the Mobil gas station at 2401 Golden Hill Road for a reported armed robbery.
The store clerk, who was not harmed in the incident, told responding officers that the robber, armed with a pistol, entered the business and demanded money. The clerk complied and handed over cash from the registers. After receiving the money, the suspect fled the store on foot, heading north toward a nearby shopping center.
Officers arrived within three minutes and searched the area but were unable to locate the suspect, according to a department news release.
The suspect appears to be a male adult about 6 feet tall and weighing between 180 and 200 pounds. In the footage, he wore all black clothing, a gray or silver mask, and gloves.
There have been several armed robberies in the county since mid-August, including three in San Luis Obispo, one in Avila Beach and another in Arroyo Grande, in which a store clerk was beaten.
Paso Robles Lt. Ty Lewis said Monday that the Paso Robles robbery shared similarities with the Atascadero robbery and it seemed likely they are related. Lewis said his department is investigating both incidents with the Atascadero Police Department.
Anyone with information about these crimes is urged to call the Paso Robles Police Department or Crime Stoppers at 805-549-STOP, or to submit an online tip at the Crime Stoppers website.
This story was originally published October 31, 2016 at 5:36 PM with the headline "Masked gunman robs North County gas station."