A handful of employees of new gaming stores stood helplessly by as a robber looted their business for the third time since it opened last year.
Security camera footage captured the most recent incident, which showed the owner’s brother and another employee struggling with a gunman during an armed robbery.
It started when the armed robber walked into Retroverse, a gaming and collectibles store in Colton, and muttered to himself, “I need my money.”
“I need it more than you do,” he muttered before walking behind the counter.
He starts stealing everything he can get his hands on before the store owner’s brother tries to stop him and eventually pins him to the ground.
“He was the one who went straight to WWE status where he suplexed the guy,” owner Jovonne Bernal said.
However, his attempt to gain the upper hand in the robbery unfortunately failed when the robber took control and ordered the employees to the ground at gunpoint.
“I didn’t want to give him a reason to shoot me,” brother Alexander Sanchez Bernal said. “I couldn’t do anything.”
The suspect demanded Sanchez Bernal’s phone before leaving with cash and Pokemon collectible cards worth a few thousand dollars, the store said.
Bernal said this was the third time they had been robbed in the seven months since opening. In November they had another burglary and theft.
“Physically everything will be fine,” Sánchez Bernal said. “Mentally it’s something completely different.”
Colton police said they are investigating this as a possible armed robbery. The brothers hope surveillance video of the violent encounter can help identify the suspect.
Nicole Comstock
