Investigation Continues for Series of Convenience Store Robberies

Multiple police agencies on Thursday continued to investigate a string of nighttime armed robberies of 24-hour convenience stores in Contra Costa County.

gets a little extra attention because one masked robber, on his way out of the Valero shop on Ygnacio Valley Road, took an errant shot at a customer, who was pumping gas, around 3:30 a.m. Wednesday.

"It is alarming when we have a robbery like we did yesterday morning," said Walnut Creek Police Chief Joel Bryden in an email. "It is very rare when we have a suspect shoot at someone in our city, but crimes like that can and do occur anywhere, as evidenced by the robbery in Pleasant Hill the day before and in Antioch a few hours after ours.

"Our officers working the early morning hours regularly check on businesses that are open all night. We have several in Walnut Creek and do our best to monitor activity in and around those businesses as time permits."

Antioch police are also investigating previous convenience store robberies by masked men, according to KTVU television. On Wednesday morning, the FoodMaxx store in Antioch was robbed by masked men while staff was restocking shelves in the Delta Fair Shopping Center near Route 4.

At 3:27 a.m. Wednesday in Walnut Creek, six armed men in costumes and masks robbed the cashier of the Valero station at Ygnacio Valley Road and North Broadway of cash, a cell phone and some items off the store shelves. As the gang emerged from the convenience store, one suspect fired a weapon at a customer pumping gas.

Police later interviewed that customer, who was uninjured. Police recovered a shell casing on the scene.