Gilroy
– Police are offering a $1,000 reward for information leading to
the arrest of a man suspected in numerous recent armed
robberies.
By Lori Stuenkel
Gilroy – Police are offering a $1,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of a man suspected in numerous recent armed robberies.
“We’ve got 11 robberies that have occurred between October and January, and most of them are businesses,” Sgt. Kurt Svardal said. “We don’t know if all of them are tied together, but there’s definitely some concern.”
A black handgun was used in most of the robberies. Some victims have described it as a semi-automatic.
Police do not have a description of the man, although they released a photograph taken from a surveillance camera.
Victims have described the man as Hispanic, although descriptions of his height and weight have varied.
Police cannot confirm that the robber is Hispanic because a mask, gloves, long sleeves and pants were worn in each of the incidents, Svardal said.
Part of the cause for concern is one recent robbery that turned violent. The robber entered Gilroy Market at 401 E. Tenth St. on Jan. 13 with a gun drawn, demanded cash, and hit the cashier with the gun on the left side of his head when the man resisted, police said. The suspect stole $1,000 from that store and is presumably the same suspect who robbed J-V Liquor at 420 First St. just a few minutes before, stealing $275.
Other recent robberies include Cheers Liquor Market on Monterey Street, Discount Cigarette & Wireless on Weyland Lane – both of which also occurred in January – Flor de Jalisco on Lewis Street and Tassos Old House restaurant on First Street.
The first robbery in which the man is a suspect occurred in October at Bank of the West on Monterey Street.
At least one other suspect could be involved, possibly as a getaway driver.
A robbery at Qwik Mart on Westwood Drive Jan. 17 involved four suspects: One man entered the store and took a case of beer without paying, while three other suspects waited outside. The men punched a store employee who followed the suspect.
Anyone with information may contact police at 846-0350.
