Robber Forces Bystander to Drive Him From Scene

A gunman robbed a 7-Eleven store on Vineland Avenue Wednesday morning and forced a bystander to drive him away, police reported.

Det. Steven Metz said the unidentified gunman also robbed the driver, a Burbank Airport firefighter, before getting out in Burbank.

At 6:15 a.m., the robber pointed a pistol at a clerk in the store in the 6800 block of Vineland Avenue and said, “I want money.” The clerk opened the cash register and stepped back as the man reached over and took an unknown amount of cash, said Metz, who watched a videotape of the crime recorded by a store security camera.

The robber was described as a Latino man in his early 20s, wearing a white tank top, dark jacket and wool hat.

He got into a pickup truck in the parking lot and ordered the driver to leave, telling him, “If I get caught, you get smoked,” Metz said.

The robber took the victim’s money before getting out near Ontario Street and Empire Avenue in Burbank, said Metz.

Officers arrested a man who closely matched the gunman’s description, but released him after reviewing the videotape and determining he was not the robber, Metz said.