You'd think the clerk might have recognized the man as he waited in line at 7:30 Thursday morning. After all, he'd made memorable appearances at the same Ninth Street 7-Eleven twice in the previous 27 hours.
In the first, which happened just before 4 a.m. on Wednesday, the 200-pound Hispanic man walked into the store and ask for a pack of Marlboros. When the clerk turned, the suspect jumped over the counter and pulled out a long-bladed knife, ordering the worker to open the register and step back. He made off with $55 cash, plus the cigarettes.
He showed up again on the same day just before 5 p.m. He had a goatee, the clerk noticed, and was wearing a purple baseball cap, a black shirt with skulls on the back, and jeans. He brought a Monster energy drink to the counter and again asked for Marlboros, four packs this time. It was at this point that the clerk, a different one than had been working the morning shift, noticed the lit cigarette dangling from the customer's mouth and asked him to put it out.
The man threw the cigarette to the ground and walked behind the counter, pointing to the knife he had wrapped inside a yellow bag. He demanded the money from both of the store's registers, which totaled $200.
So it should have come as no surprise when the man's third visit turned out exactly the same way. He waited in line, walked behind the counter, flashed a knife and stole $80.
Multiple police arrived this time to work the scene and gather footage from the store's surveillance cameras. They are investigating.
