Sheriff's spokesman: At first, convenience store clerk thought man was joking
Headline Surfer® graphic / DELTONA -- At first, the convenience store clerk thought the man was joking when he approached the counter and demanded cash early this morning, but it was all too real.
The Volusia County Sheriff's Office respond to 9-1-1 call about the robbery at 12:23 a.m. Deputies, who began arriving at the scene at 1805 Elkcam Blvd. two minutes later, were told that the robber had entered the store and demanded that the clerk hand over the money in the cash register.
"At first, the clerk said he thought it was a joke," Sheriff's spokesman Gary Davison told Headline Surfer®. "But after the suspect insisted he was serious, the clerk complied with the demand and handed over an undisclosed amount of money to the robber. The suspect grabbed the money and ran out of the store, jumped over a wall and disappeared from sight into an alley behind the store."
"At first, the clerk said he thought it was a joke," Sheriff's spokesman Gary Davison told Headline Surfer®. "But after the suspect insisted he was serious, the clerk complied with the demand and handed over an undisclosed amount of money to the robber. The suspect grabbed the money and ran out of the store, jumped over a wall and disappeared from sight into an alley behind the store."
While the clerk said he didn't see a weapon, a deputy who viewed the store's surveillance video said it looked like the robber had a gun in his hand. An extensive search with patrol deputies, a K-9 team and a Sheriff's helicopter failed to turn up any sign of the robber.
The robber was described as Hispanic and 5 feet 10. He was wearing jeans, a black, hooded sweatshirt, black shoes and a bandana covering his face.