Man ties up store clerk during armed robbery in Morro Bay, police say
Morro Bay police continued to search Thursday for an armed robbery suspect who reportedly tied up a clerk the night before after attempting to steal cash from a check cashing store.
At about 5:50 p.m., a masked man entered the Check Into Cash in the 1000 block of Kennedy Way in Morro Bay, brandished a small silver handgun, and demanded cash.
He then took an employee to the safe, which was on a timer and could not be opened, according to the Morro Bay Police Department. When that attempt failed, the man took the employee to a back room and bound her arms and legs.
The man left the store in an unknown direction with some $2,000 in cash from a register.
He was inside the business between 3 and 4 minutes, the police department said.
The incident was caught on surveillance video, showing a suspect described as a husky male standing approximately 6 feet tall and weighing between 180 and 200 lbs. wearing oversized dark or navy blue coveralls with a white emblem on the left upper arm and a light blue emblem, possibly reflective, on the back; black, laced shoes with white soles; dark blue “boonie” hat with a black band; dark green balaclava type headgear under hat; and carrying a yellow and dark gray or black colored backpack with white or light colored lettering positioned vertically on the back of the bag.
The clerk was not injured, nor was she threatened with injury during the robbery, the department news release said.
The robbery remains under investigation and anyone with information is asked to contact Sgt. Tony Mosqueda at (805) 772-6233 or Cmdr. Amy Watkins at (805) 772-6237.
This story was originally published November 20, 2019 at 6:34 PM.
