Suspect Arrested in Beating and Robbery of Clerk at Liquor Store
A man suspected of beating and robbing a Fountain Valley liquor store clerk at gunpoint has been booked into Orange County Jail on charges of robbery and attempted murder.
Santa Ana police arrested Mark Curtis, 26, about 11:30 p.m. Tuesday for allegedly assaulting Randall Wampler, 25, a clerk at Mile Square Liquor at 16567 Brookhurst St. earlier that night.
Police said a man fitting Curtis’ description entered the liquor store about 7 p.m., pointed a gun at Wampler and demanded his wallet. When Wampler tried to grab the gun, he was stabbed several times in the chest and upper arms with a screwdriver, then beaten about the head with a beer bottle, Fountain Valley Police Detective Dann Bean said.
The robber took Wampler’s wallet and fled in an older model Chevrolet, Bean said. Wampler was reported in stable condition Wednesday at Fountain Valley Community Hospital.
Fountain Valley police issued a countywide bulletin for Curtis, whom Wampler reportedly recognized as a frequent customer.
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