Buena Park

Robber Caught on Camera Smiling After Crime at Gas Station in Buena Park

A gas station robbery was caught on camera Tuesday when a man dressed in a camouflage hat told the clerk to empty the register on in Buena Park.

"So he goes in his waistband and he produces a semi-automatic weapon and tells her, 'empty all your money,'" Cyril Wallace, store manager, said.

The robbery began at very busy time of the morning. The clerk said she knew he wasn’t one of her regulars.

The man asked for change for a $20 bill, and at first the clerk said she couldn’t open the register without him buying something first.

The man left and returned moments later with a gun.

The whole robbery was caught on 32 cameras inside and outside of the Mobil station.

The man was described as being 5-feet 5-inches tall, weighing 150 pounds.

What really irked the manager was the look on the man’s face as he left with the cash.

"Look at that grin on his face. What a grin," Wallace said. "Obviously he thought accomplished something really great despite the fact we have more cameras here than some of our local banks."

Police said the surveillance cameras also captured the man leaving in a dark car westbound on Artesia Boulevard. It did not have license plates.

"They believe he could be related to a series of robberies in the LA and OC areas," said Cpl. Bret Carter of Buena Park police.

The owner of the gas station is offering a reward, convinced the surveillance footage will help someone identify the man in the camouflage hat.

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