Carmine’s robbed at gunpoint

A robber using a gun against three employees of Carmine’s Italian Restaurant at 311 E. Live Oak Avenue got away with $6,000 shortly after midnight this Sunday morning, Jan. 11, 2015.

It’s the second time in less than a week that employees of restaurant in Arcadia have been held up by a masked gunman, following a robbery at Coco’s Bakery Restaurant, 1150 W. Colorado St. of a similar nature late Sunday night, Jan. 4. Arcadia Police Lieutenant Tom Cullen told Arcadia’s Best that police believe it is the same lone suspect, and that so far there have been no reports from other local agencies about robberies by a suspect of a similar description.

A prelimary investigation this morning by Arcadia Police regarding the Carmine’s robbery determined that the suspect approached two employees who had exited the rear of the restaurant to discard some trash. The suspect pointed a chrome-colored handgun at the employees and forced them back into the restaurant. Once inside, the suspect confronted the manager and ordered everyone into the office. The suspect demanded all of the money from the safe. The manager filled a bag and gave it to the suspect. The suspect exited the rear door and fled in a vehicle that was parked on Third Avenue.

It is unknown if there was a driver already in the vehicle, or if the suspect drove it away. The restaurant was closed at the time of the robbery, and no one was injured. The estimated loss was approximately $6000.00.

The suspect was a black male in his mid-twenties. He was described as being 5’10” tall, weighing 170 pounds, and he was wearing a dark-colored hoodie. He also had a bandana covering his nose and mouth. The weapon was described as a chrome-colored semi-auto handgun. The vehicle was only described as dark in color.

The investigation is continuing by Arcadia Police Department Detectives. Anyone with information is asked to call the Arcadia Police Department at 626-574-5150. You can also submit crime tips and information via text, phone, or web to LA Regional Crime Stoppers, 800-222-TIPS (8477).

In both the Carmine’s and the Coco’s cases, the robbery took place after closing hours when the suspect confronted employees behind the building near a trash dumpster. In both cases it was a single suspect, still at large, described nearly identically.

— By Scott Hettrick