Officials with the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Department are asking the public to help them identify a suspect wanted in connection with a robbery of a grocery store over the weekend.
The robbery occurred shortly after 8 p.m. Friday at the Vons supermarket at 163 S. Turnpike Road, according to Sheriff’s Department spokeswoman Kelly Hoover.
The suspect, who reportedly had a handgun in his waist band, fled on foot with an undisclosed amount of cash.
The Sheriff’s Department on Monday released a photo of the man taken from surveillance video taken minutes before the robbery.
The suspect is described as a heavy-set Hispanic male in his late 20s, about 6 feet 2 inches tall and 250 to 275 pounds. He was wearing a dark cap with a white logo, a long white-sleeved shirt with a black and white checkered pattern, dark pants and white shoes.
Hoover said the suspect went through a checkout line pretending to buy merchandise. When the cashier handed him his change, he showed her a handgun attached to his waistband and demanded money from the cash register.
The cashier turned over what she had in the register and the suspect quickly left the store, but responding deputies were not able to locate the man.
Anyone with information about the suspect is asked to call the Sheriff’s Department Anonymous Tip Line at 805.681.4171.
— Noozhawk staff writer Lara Cooper can be reached at lcooper@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.
