Authorities are asking for the public's help in locating a man police believe is responsible for two armed robberies this week, police said Thursday.
A man entered a 76 Gas station on the 3200 block of Santa Anita Avenue in El Monte Sunday, pointed a gun at the cashier and demanded money, according to the El Monte Police Department. When the man pointed the black semi-automatic handgun at the cashier, he gave the robber the money in the cash register and his wallet "fearing for his life," police said in a statement.
The man took the money and left the gas station in a Toyota Tundra police described as a newer model with a chrome-colored tool box in the bed of the truck, according to Lt. Christopher Cano. The truck's rear license plate was filled with white-colored paper from a dealership that read "Mountain View Chevrolet."
He was last seen driving eastbound on Interstate 10 Freeway, according to police.
Surveillance video from the gas station indicated that the man has had some "firearms training based on how he was handling" the gun, Cano said in a statement.
Authorities connected the man to another robbery that occurred on Monday in Fontana, and noted that he was wearing a "generic black security guard jacket with the word 'Security' on the back and unknown named shoulder patches." During the theft, he brandished a handgun with the same description at a store clerk, and demanded money and cigarettes.
The Fontana robbery is being investigated by the San Bernardino Sheriff’s Department Fontana Station.
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Police said he is between 25 and 30 years of age, about 6 foot one inch tall, with short black hair and a tattoo on the right side of his neck.
Anyone with information about the robbery was encouraged to call the El Monte Police Department at 626-580-2114.
