Cameras capture the moment a police officer unknowingly walks into a 7-Eleven as an armed robbery is taking place.
The incident happened on Jan. 17 at a 7-Eleven convenience store near the corner of a busy intersection in West Covina.
Security video shows the suspect, Ramon Gonzalez, 48, approaching the counter and asking the clerk to grab him a pack of cigarettes.
As the employee began placing the cigarettes into a bag, suddenly, the suspect lifted his sweatshirt while brandishing a firearm. He then demanded the employee empty the register.
The terrified employee, identified only as a man in his 20s, began placing the cash into a plastic bag.
At that moment, West Covina Sergeant Abel Hernandez, who is a frequent customer of that 7-Eleven, is seen walking in to buy some water and to say hello to the clerk.
Little did he know, he was walking straight into an active robbery. Within seconds, however, Hernandez could sense something was wrong.
“So I saw the subject in there and at first, I really didn’t think anything” recalled Hernandez. “I saw the gloves, I saw the ski mask and that night it was a little chilly so I figured, “‘Okay.’”
Hernandez said what tipped him off to the actual trouble happening was the expression on the clerk’s face.
“He’s always with a smile, but as I entered the store, I saw the fear in his face and I knew something was up,” Hernandez said. “I remember just keeping my eye on the subject.”
As the robber lifts the bag of cash off the counter — about $400 worth — he spots Hernandez walking in and immediately dashes out the front door
The clerk is heard shouting, “He’s got a gun! He robbed me!” while Hernandez quickly chases after the suspect.
“To me, it seemed slow even though I look at the video and it seemed like I took off pretty quick,” Hernandez said. “Everything sort of slows down. I was able to catch him 15 to 20 feet right outside the doors of the store.”
Hernandez tackled the thief and said he put up a brief struggle before finally relenting.
Backup officers eventually arrived. In addition to the money, police recovered a loaded handgun along with the bag of $400 in cash.
Hernandez, a 17-year veteran of the West Covina Police Department, said he’s thankful no one was injured during the ordeal.
“It was fortunate,” said Hernandez. “Thank God that the outcome was what it was.”
The suspect faces several charges including robbery and being a felon in possession of a firearm.
On Jan. 13, security cameras at a 7-Eleven in Carson captured L.A. County Sheriff’s Deputy Luis Cisneros entering the store to buy a drink just as four armed suspects were attempting to rob two clerks at gunpoint.
There has also been a rash of robberies at 7-Eleven stores across Los Angeles and Long Beach, though authorities have not said whether those incidents are related.