Gunman Sought in Robbery of Kmart

Santa Paula police are looking for the man who robbed a Kmart store early Monday after tying up two female employees.

The armed man, who was wearing a dark, hooded sweatshirt, apparently hid in the store at 895 Faulkner Road until after midnight, long after the store had closed.

He confronted the two employees in a rear office, said Cmdr. Bob Gonzales of the Santa Paula Police Department. The man tied the women, then stuffed stolen money into four small bags, Gonzales said.

Although the robber escaped, officers found one of the bags of money outside, Gonzales said.

While searching along the rear of the building, an officer apparently knocked over a carton containing hydrochloric acid. A hazardous materials crew from the Ventura County and Ventura city fire departments cleaned up the spill, Gonzales said.