3 Masked Bandits Shoot Patron in Leg and Rough Up 2 in Restaurant Holdup

Three men in ski masks burst into a Fullerton restaurant Thursday night, shot one man in the leg, beat up two others and forced all 11 patrons onto the floor before stealing more than $3,100, police said.

Kuo-Mon Tai, the bartender at Angelique’s restaurant on Orangethorpe Avenue, said he thought that it was a joke when the three men carrying pistols entered the restaurant about 11 p.m., screaming and cursing.

But one thief fired two shots at the bar, where most of the patrons were sitting, and called out: “This is not a joke, it’s a robbery,” Kuo-Mon said.

Brea Man Wounded

One of the two shots hit Brea resident Neil John Dettorre, 46. Dettorre was taken to Anaheim Memorial Hospital where he was listed in stable condition after leg surgery.

The three men then forced Kuo-Mon, the restaurant’s dishwasher and 11 patrons to lie flat while they emptied purses, wallets and the cash register. Kuo-Mon said the robbers took $300 from his wallet.

“They called out to me, put me down on the ground, and kicked my back and head,” said Kuo-Mon, who has worked at the restaurant for 12 years.

One robber took Kuo-Mon’s gold watch from behind the bar and made him open the cash register, which he emptied.

“Then one robber took me into the office, and I opened the safe for him, and he took all the money from the safe,” Kuo-Mon said. “The other two guys took everybody else’s wallet.”

The robbers also roughed up dishwasher Vincent Delmontes, 21, who was treated at Anaheim Memorial Hospital and released.

“They put all of us in the office and blocked it from the outside with the couch,” Kuo-Mon said. “We were there for 20 minutes, kneeling down. We opened the door to see that everything was quieted down.”

Kuo-Mon immediately called the police and the restaurant owner, James Palmesino.

According to Palmesino, the robbers took close to $2,500 from the restaurant.

“They took pennies and everything we had in the safe,” said Palmesino, who has owned the large restaurant for 25 years. The Angelique serves mainly local industry employees and residents from Anaheim and Fullerton.

“We had four people from England in here,” said Palmesino, who had rushed over after Kuo-Mon’s call. “They had just gotten into town. What a reception they got.”

Palmesino said that lately the area has experienced more violence. In fact, the restaurant has been robbed three times in the last five years. The other robberies, however, involved much less money and were not violent.

“Usually robbers are interested in money and not interested in hurting people,” Palmesino said. “They were nervous and wanted to make an impression.”

Police are still investigating the incident.