A masked man robbed Brother’s Market in downtown Hollister at
gun point Thursday night, taking $1,800 and a carton of
cigarettes.
Hollister – A masked man robbed Brother’s Market in downtown Hollister at gun point Thursday night, taking $1,800 and a carton of cigarettes.
The incident marks the first time the market on the corner of San Benito and South streets has been robbed in its 22 years of business, according to the owner.
A man wearing a ski mask and gloves entered the market around 7:45pm. He walked up to the clerk, pointed a small-caliber handgun at him, cocked it and demanded the 27-year-old employee give him all the money in the cash register, said owner Qwan Cho.
Cho said a witness saw a suspicious man was loitering in front of the market right before the robbery, and he believes it was the assailant waiting for the best opportunity to make his move.
The man is a Hispanic male in his early 20s, approximately 5 feet 10 inches tall and 150 pounds, said Hollister Police spokesman George Ramirez. He has a medium complexion and clean shaven face and was wearing black clothes, Ramirez said.
After the clerk gave the man $1,800 in cash out of the register and lifted up the drawer to convince him there wasn’t any more money, the robber then demanded the clerk give him some cigarettes, according to Cho.
“My helper gave him one pack, and he said, ‘No, give me a carton,'” Cho said. “He was not rushed. That guy was not the fist time (robbing a store).”
The only other person in the store during the incident was Cho’s wife, who was in the bathroom and didn’t realize what was happening. After the man ran out of the store on South Street, the clerk got the woman and they called police, Cho said. The clerk gave as much of a description as he could to officers, along with the videotape from the store’s surveillance camera, Cho said.
“I have some worry about the town getting worse. I didn’t expect it to happen to my store,” Cho said. “I’ve been here 22 years and this is the first time it’s happened. I hope they get that guy.”
The robbery comes on the heels of another armed robbery about a month and a half ago at Hollister Drive-In Market on Fourth Street. Police still have no leads on a suspect wearing a ski mask who robbed the store and two customers inside for more than $700, Ramirez said.
Police have some leads on the Brother’s Market robbery, but Ramirez didn’t know if the two incidents are related.
“Anything’s possible at this point,” he said.
Anyone with information is asked to contact the Hollister Police Department at 636-4330.
Erin Musgrave covers public safety for the Free Lance. Reach her at 637-5566, ext. 336 or [email protected]
