Daylight robbery: Brazen thief robs store at gunpoint

LANCASTER – Deputies are searching for a man who robbed a cash advance store in the Quartz Hill Town Centre at gunpoint early Tuesday afternoon.

“This was in the middle of the day, pretty brazen,” said Lancaster Sheriff’s Station spokesman Michael Rust. “But our Robbery Suppression Team is here, and with their expertise, I would imagine we will have this solved fairly quickly.”

Rust said the robbery took place shortly before 1 p.m., Tuesday, at Advance America Cash Advance on 40^th Street West and Avenue L.

He said a man wearing blue pants and a gray plaid shirt walked into the store, brandished a handgun, and robbed the store of an undisclosed amount of cash. There was one female employee in the store at the time of the robbery, Rust said. The employee was not injured during the robbery, but the thief did steal the employee’s wallet, Rust said.

“The victim inside watched him get into a charcoal gray car,” Rust said. “He was last seen headed eastbound on Avenue L.”

He said there are surveillance cameras at the store, which should aid deputies in solving the crime. Deputies are also hoping to hear from shoppers who may have witnessed the incident.

“It was broad daylight so it was probably a lot of people here in the parking lot who may not have realized what they were seeing,” Rust said. “Hopefully reading this or hearing it on the news will jog their memory.”

Anyone who was at the Quartz Hill Town Centre on 40^th Street West and Avenue L, around 1 p.m. Tuesday, who may have seen anything unusual, is asked to contact the Sheriff’s Department at 661-948-8466.

Individuals can also provide information anonymously through “Crime Stoppers” by dialing 800-222-TIPS (8477).