Garden Grove : Robber Takes Cash but Leaves Telltale Evidence

An armed robber who held up a gas station was long on gall but short on brains Sunday afternoon, police said.

The man, about 25, drove his car into the Freeway Shell Service station at 12881 Haster St. about 2 p.m. and asked for some repairs, said Garden Grove Police Lt. Chuck Gibbs.

“The service station made the repairs, but this guy pulls a .45 automatic,” Gibbs said. “Instead of paying them, he decides to take their money. He took $552 from them.”

Accompanying the armed man were a woman, also about 25, and a boy, about 5, Gibbs said.

The gunman fired no shots and drove off quickly. The man, however, made a major blunder, said Gibbs.

“We now have a positive (identification) on him,” Gibbs said. “We know who he is. He’s a parolee, and we’ll catch him.”

How did police make such a quick identification?

“The guy left his wallet behind,” said Gibbs. “Maybe he got excited, or maybe he figured there was no money in the wallet anyway, but he left it behind. And now we know who he is.”

Gibbs declined to identify the suspect, but he did say the man was on parole from a previous felony “and is a bad boy.”