4th Baskin-Robbins Robbed in as Many Days

Robbery appears to be the flavor of the month at Ventura County Baskin-Robbins stores, with shops in Oxnard and Moorpark becoming the third and fourth to be robbed since Monday.

A gunman walked into a Baskin-Robbins at 563 W. Los Angeles Ave. in Moorpark about 9 p.m. Thursday and demanded money from the clerk.

Sheriff’s Sgt. Will Hammer said the white male suspect showed a handgun of an unknown caliber and fled on foot with an undetermined amount of cash.

Hammer said “there is a pretty good chance” the robbery was connected to one or more of the previous Baskin-Robbins holdups in the west county.

But police don’t believe Wednesday’s 10:25 p.m. heist in Oxnard is related to the robbery the day before of a Baskin-Robbins on Victoria Avenue in Ventura or another Monday at the company’s Main Street outlet in Ventura.

The Oxnard bandit is described as a Latino, about 27, with a mustache. The robber said he was armed, but did not show a firearm before scooping an unknown amount of cash from the register and running from the Saviers Road store.

By contrast, the suspect in the two Ventura robberies is described as a cleanshaven white man who ordered a drink and then lifted his shirt to reveal a handgun tucked into his waistband. Police did not have a complete description of the suspect in the Moorpark holdup.

“It’s just a fast-food place not many people frequent and there’s not that many people inside,” said Det. Randey Cole of the Oxnard Police Department. “It makes it a little more attractive.”

Indeed, police aren’t even sure the two Ventura robberies are connected. The physical descriptions of the robbers differ so drastically as to be virtually useless, said Det. Tom Randall of the Ventura Police Department.

In Monday’s incident, the robber who got away with $100 to $200 is described as a tall, thin man 40 to 50 years old. Tuesday’s suspect is described as ranging in age from 28 to 35 and shorter, with different color hair than the first robber.

“The modus operandi is exactly the same, but the physical description is different,” Randall said. “I think they’re probably the same person, but the descriptions are so different that I can’t say for sure.”

The Main Street Baskin-Robbins in Ventura was robbed in August and the Saviers Road ice cream parlor about three months ago.

There was a string of four robberies at Oxnard Subway sandwich shops that began in July and ended when police arrested a suspect in September, Cole said.

Moreover, there have been four robberies of various Ventura hamburger joints since June, Randall said; others have occurred in Oxnard and Camarillo.

But the robberies aren’t indicative of a trend, police believe.

“Crooks usually have a habit of going to the same kind of place they’ve had luck before,” Randall said. “If it worked once here it can certainly work once there. That’s why you get these strings of fast-food [robberies].”

Such places are often popular hangouts for youngsters, and teenagers customarily work behind the counter.

Cole said he is unaware of any additional safety measures Baskin-Robbins or other local fast-food eateries may be contemplating in the wake of the rash of robberies. Baskin-Robbins officials did not respond to requests for comment.

But the recent crimes don’t make them more unsafe than other stores, Cole said. “They’re safe--these kinds of things are going to happen,” he said. “We have bank robberies every day, but we don’t stop going to the bank because of them.”

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Times Community News reporter Holly J. Wolcott contributed to this story.