Atascadero police arrest suspected armed robber, find stolen money stashed in a hole
Police arrested a man suspected of robbing an Atascadero gas station with a gun early Wednesday morning.
Anthony William Thomas, 21, approached the cashier at Circle K gas station on Morro Road wearing a blonde curly wig at about 5:51 a.m., according to a news release from the Atascadero Police Department.
Thomas “showed her a gun concealed in his waistband and demanded all the money from the cash drawer,” the release said. The clerk gave Thomas the cash, and “he then threatened to shoot her if she called the police, and fled the store.”
Using video and photo footage from the gas station’s security cameras, police identified the robber as Thomas, an Atascadero resident with “numerous prior contacts” with the police, according to the release.
Atascadero police arrested Thomas and found the stolen cash stashed in a hole in the ground, according to the release. Police said Thomas admitted to the robbery.
At 11:41 a.m., police booked Thomas into San Luis Obispo County Jail on suspicion of robbery, brandishing a firearm, criminal threats, possession of a controlled substance and committing a crime while out on bail, according to the jail log.
This story was originally published May 17, 2023 at 1:35 PM.
