Expensive Tennis Clothes Taken at South Coast Plaza : Man Ties Up Worker, Robs Mall Store, Walks Away

A gunman who walked into a South Coast Plaza store, tied up a clerk and threatened to “blow her head off” walked away not with money but with expensive designer sportswear, police reported Thursday.

For Costa Mesa police the case was unusual because most robbers don’t tie up their victims, Sgt. John FitzPatrick said. But for the victim, the Wednesday night incident was so traumatic she quit her job.

“She’s really shaken up,” said Linda Ward, assistant manager of the Lady Tennis store. “If I were in the same situation, I don’t know whether I would want to come back and work at the same store.”

The 25-year-old clerk, who requested anonymity, was by herself when a man walked into the shop shortly before closing time, pulled out a revolver, dragged her into a dressing room and tied her up with rope, FitzPatrick said.

He then walked out with $7,000 to $8,000 worth of shirts and “a whole rack of men’s warm-ups”--different sizes and styles--from Fila and Ellesse, European sportswear, as well as some Ellesse women’s wear, Ward said. Each jogging suit sells for about $250.

The clerk was not injured, Ward said, but the store will now require that two employees be on duty at all times.

Ward said the incident, along with some obscene phone calls the employees have been receiving, had made her nervous about the late evening hours when the mall begins to empty out.

Karin Pfeifer, another employee, agreed and said: “You do feel uncomfortable if somebody walks in at night and it’s almost closing time and you’re alone with them. Especially if he has a gun.”