Two men, wearing construction vests and hard hats, stormed the OC Watch Company at 1507 Cypress Thursday afternoon, maced an employee and brandished a baseball bat at others.
A third suspect, who was also in construction gear, waited outside the store.
Upon entering the store, one of the suspects handed the store owner a clipboard and asked him to sign a form authorizing the “crew” to shut off the business’ power.
When the store owner looked down at the clipboard, the suspect sprayed him and a nearby customer with pepper spray, officers said.
A second suspect used a baseball bat to smash a display case full of merchandise.
The first suspect attempted to grab items from the case, but the owner managed to fight the men off before they could steal anything.
All three suspects ran out the store westbound on Cypress Street and into a newer model Dodge Challenger with silver rims and black paper plates, according to police.
The suspect vehicle was parked on Commercial Lane and was last seen fleeing south towards Mt. Diablo Boulevard, according to police.
A vehicle matching the general description of the getaway vehicle was sighted by Lafayette police minutes after the robbery was reported at 3:07 p.m. and was stopped in Orinda. Witnesses said the car bore paper license plates, as described by witnesses who saw the getaway car pull away – but a police check determined its occupant was not involved.
Regarding “generic” paper plates, their continued existence is inexcusable. CA *FINALLY* changed the law, which takes effect in 2019. No more people free-riding on registration fees and bridge tolls– and makes it harder for bad guys to go undetected (including by license plate cameras).
When I see paper plates on older cars, I think “criminal.” While we wait for new law on 2019, I think we should encourage cops to “stop and frisk” older cars with paper plates.
Good for the owner for fighting them off!
@Susan – Good morning. Yes. Not recommended action but it worked for him. Glad no one was seriously hurt…
I don’t like criminals. But I have to give it to this Trio, that dressing up in construction worker gear is kind of novel. Especially with hundreds of similarily dressed Construction workers running around Walnut Creek these days.
If you recall, some Lamorinda area home burglars were dressing this way too. So something we need to keep an eye on, especially in out residential areas now too.
@GregT – We understand, Greg, and agree that local crews are learning to camouflage themselves with certain clothing, e.g., construction, security-type clothing and clipboards, not to mention the current trending toward paper license plates for their cars, which other Internet detectives have noted and commented on here. We would also cite the presence of mind of the store owner, who we believe came up armed and maintained a certain discipline as the thieves ran out the door…
That’s such a small store. No wonder the third guy waited outside.
I noticed most coverage of this story on tv and print did not mention the owner was armed. That is important because it is the only thing that saved him.
@Katsmeow – We hear you. We did mention his discipline in holding fire as they fled out his door but we think he was not anxious to publicize the fact that he is armed.