Gonzales police investigating robbery at Metro PCS
Two suspects robbed the Metro PCS store in Gonzales of thousands of dollars Tuesday morning, police said.
The robbery happened around 8:30 a.m. The owner of Metro PCS was approached by two aggressive suspects while on his way to deposit thousands of dollars.
Witnesses chased the two as they fled the store, and the suspects fired shots, police said.
The owner told Central Coast News that he was shaken up after the incident, and is worried about his safety and the safety of his stores. He is in the process of installing more security cameras, and is being extra cautious around the shop.
One Gonzales resident, Henry Martinez, who just happened to be near the scene this morning when the thieves were trying to get away jumped into action, or in this case into a full sprint.
“Two guys started running with the bag of money so we started chasing him down and cutting through the alley and the next thing we know they started shooting, and we were like oh wow!,” said Martinez.
Martinez says that’s when he dropped to the ground. The suspects got away, without a trace, except for this surveillance video that caught bits and pieces of the robbery unfolding.
The surveillance camera shows the owner leave to deposit the cash. As he walks to his car two men walk towards him. What you can’t see is the owner throwing the money into the street to buy him some time to get help. Then you see the two suspects run away, and shortly after you can see the owner, and Martinez run after the suspects.
“Everybody dropped to the ground as soon as they turned around, we got back up and started chasing after them again. Then he jumped into a car,” said Martinez.
The thieves apparently got away with thousands of dollars. Police are working leads to find the robbers, but in the mean time, they don’t suggest following Martinez’s lead.
“We would rather you just provide the information of what you can see. Don’t try to end up being a hero because if you do there’s some real tragedies that can happen from that,” said Police Chief Paul Miller.
Martinez only ended up with a few scrapes and bruises.
“For that to happen I was just completely shocked,” said Martinez.
As for his actions he’ll tell you they were pure instinct.
Gonzales Police are looking for two dark skinned males with an average build and height of 5’7 to 5’9 that are driving a red compact car.The police are still working on getting a make or model for the red, compact car. There were 8 witnesses that have come forward to provide information. In addition, they are working on seeing if any other surveillance video in the area caught more of the scene. Contact Gonzales PD if you know anything.
