Caller Uses Threat by Phone to Rob Clothing Store

An anonymous telephone caller robbed a Cypress clothing store, telling employees that he had the store under surveillance and would open fire unless they left their cash at a nearby pay phone, authorities said Tuesday.

By the time police arrived Monday night, the money bag was gone.

Police said there have been at least six similar telephone extortion attempts in Orange and Los Angeles counties this summer. Stores in Fullerton, Artesia and Whittier have been hit, as well as three merchants in Buena Park.

Some store clerks have hung up on the caller. But others have handed over their money, at least twice to an accomplice posing as a shopper inside the store.

“What I think this guy is doing is at random calling people, and every once in a while he gets lucky and people give him the money,” said Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Deputy David Brant, who has been investigating the phone caller heists.

Cypress police said employees at Suzie’s Deals, a women’s clothing store in the 6800 block of Katella Avenue in Cypress, were preparing to close at 9 p.m. Monday when the phone rang.

“The guy said he was watching the store,” said the clerk, who asked not to be identified. “He said to take the money out of the safe and the register, put the money in a bag and put it in the phone booth (outside a nearby store). And if I didn’t do it, he was going to open fire on the store.”

The woman said she gave the bag containing $483 to another clerk, who dropped it at the pay telephone. When she returned, the employees called 911.

By the time police arrived and surrounded the store, the bag was gone and there was no sign of the extortionist, Cypress Police Lt. Phillip Satterfield said.

Buena Park Police Detective Dan Flanagan said similar threats were made at Kidsmart, Jack-in-the-Box and Payless Shoesource stores in July and August. In the first two attempts, the caller used an accomplice to pick up the money. But in the third, he was working alone, Flanagan said.

In some cases the caller has told employees he has a gun and also has told them: “We have locks on you,” and “I have you in my scope,” police said.

Whittier Police Detective Don Heckel described an Aug. 6 robbery of a Van’s Tennis Shoes that was nearly identical to the one in Cypress. Store employees left a bag containing $350 at a nearby dry cleaners. The caller even reminded employees to empty the safe, he said.

“(The Cypress robbery) sounds exactly the same,” Heckel said. “That’s the same guy.”

Brant said he suspects more attempted robberies have gone unreported by businesses that have dismissed them as crank calls. He said he has a possible suspect but has yet to make an arrest.