Shortly after 1 a.m. on Jan. 10, a man wearing a red bandana over his face allegedly had a black semi-automatic handgun drawn when he entered a 7-Eleven convenience store, 1221 Artesia Blvd. and demanded a store clerk load all the money in a cash register into a backpack, police said.
“It was immediate,” said Manhattan Beach Police Detective Michael Rosenberger. “He opened the door already pointing a gun, saying something to the effect of ‘This is a robbery.’ One clerk thought it was a joke.”
Two employees, both in their early 20s, were the only people present in the store at the time of the robbery, Rosenberger said. Police said the suspect kept the gun pointed at both employees during the incident. Neither was injured.
Police declined to disclose the exact amount the suspect took off with, but said that it was more than $100.
The incident is one of six armed robberies at late night convenience stores that police believe to be caused by a lone man Rosenberger dubbed “the Emo Bandit” because of his tight, dark jeans and spiky black hair, in reference to a style of rock music and the fashion often displayed by its listeners.
Police said he is also suspected in two robberies in Torrance, two in Anaheim and one in Hermosa Beach on Jan. 7 at an ARCO station (see story on p. 10).
“It’s definitely the same guy,” Rosenberger said. “He always uses the same [method of operation]. And he’s always pretty cautious to make sure there are no customers.”
Rosenberger said that after the Hermosa robbery, a tow truck driver saw the suspect take off in a silver sedan that was likely an early 2000s model Saturn. No accomplice was seen.
Hermosa Beach police said the man always enters the stores armed with a handgun and a blue backpack, before making off with the contents of their cash registers.
The suspect, described by police as a male, white or Asian, in his early 20s, 5-feet-8 with a slender build and weighing 155 pounds, was seen in Manhattan Beach wearing dark, tight jeans and a light-colored hoodie sweatshirt, with a red bandana across his face, black spiky hair and manicured eyebrows.
“You don’t normally see guys knocking off convenience stores dressed in skinny jeans,” Rosenberger said.
The time between when the suspect entered and exited the 7-Eleven store was 59 seconds, according to authorities.
“That’s pretty fast,” Rosenberger said. “It’s because he does it right off the bat. This guy is pulling guns out right away.”
Rosenberger noted suspects usually case a store before robbing it, such as last December when a See’s Candies store in Manhattan Village Mall was robbed by a man who made off with cash after simulating he had a gun. Before the robbery, he walked around and asked how much items in the store cost.
“This guy knows it’s the right time and goes in and does the robbery,” Rosenberger said of the Emo Bandit. “In that sense, he’s got it down. He’s in and out.” ER
