2 Men Arrested After Adjacent Stores Robbed Simultaneously

Police early Sunday arrested two men on suspicion of simultaneously robbing two adjacent stores on West Coast Highway, including a liquor store where the clerk dodged a bullet and was struck over the head with a pistol.

At about 12:30 p.m. Sunday, robbers wielding guns entered the BalPort Liquor Store, at 4520 W. Coast Highway, and the Stop N Go Market, next door at 4555 W. Coast Highway.

At the liquor store, the robber ordered customers to get on the floor and fired a gun at the store owner, Wonk Yi, but Yi ducked and the shot missed, police said. The robber then struck Yi over the head with his pistol and robbed two customers and the cash register. Yi was not seriously injured and did not require treatment. The customers were uninjured.

Meanwhile next door, a second suspect used a revolver to threaten and rob the clerk, identified by police as Hassan Manvelati. No shots were fired there, and the clerk was uninjured.

About an hour later, two Newport Beach police officers saw a car on West Coast Highway that matched the description of the one used by the robbers. They arrested Kevin Gerber, 21, of Perris and Glenn Alexander, 23, of Gardena on suspicion of attempted homicide.

Other charges are expected to be filed against Gerber and Alexander, who were being held Sunday in Newport Beach Jail, police said. A girl in the car with them was also questioned, but no charges were filed against her.

Police said Gerber, who was driving the car, robbed the liquor store while Alexander robbed the convenience store. The victims, as well as other witnesses, have identified the suspects, police said.