Robbery at Quiznos: The Latest in a Spate of Restaurant Robberies Along Oak Grove Road Since September

Walnut Creek police are investigating an armed robbery Wednesday evening at the Quiznos sandwich shop in the Citrus shopping center on Oak Grove Road.

It is the second crime involving a gunman at a restaurant in this shopping center in less than a week.

It is also the third fast-food restaurant holdup in one of the two shopping centers near the intersection of Oak Grove and Ygnacio Valley road since early November. Moreover, it is the sixth robbery at a restaurant along the Oak Grove Road corridor since September. 

In this most recent case, just before 6 p.m. Wednesday, a man wearing a hooded army jacket, sunglasses and a cloth partially covering his face, came into Quiznos, said Sgt. Lanny Edwards.

The robber  locked the deadbolt, brandished a black semi-automatic handgun and demanded the owner open the cash register. The robber took cash from the register, as well as the owner's wallet, and ran out the door.

While there were a few customers in the fast-food sandwich shop, no one was hurt, Edwards said. 

Walnut Creek police and a Concord police K-9 searched the area around the shopping center near the busy intersection of Oak Grove and Ygnacio Valley roads. But they didn't find the robber.

Police can't say for sure they believe this gunman was also involved in an attempted armed robbery at the Panda Express in the same shopping center last Thursday night. But it's a possibility, Edwards said. 

In that case, two gunmen arrived at the fast-food Asian restaurant just after closing at 10 p.m. and found the doors locked. The employees refused to let them in, even though one of the robbers pointed a gun at them. The gunmen ran off when the employees moved away from the door, presumably to call police. 

Edwards also mentioned a third similar crime in the Encina Grande shopping center on Nov. 3. On that night, two gunmen stormed into the Taco Bell, jumped the counter and grabbed cash from the register. 

Moreover, Concord police are investigating two armed robberies at the Round Table restaurant in the shopping center at the corner of Oak Grove Road and Treat Boulevard in September and October, reported the blog Claycord.com.  The Subway sandwich shop in that shopping center also was held up on September 13, Claycord reported. 

There are similarities and differences in the descriptions of the suspects and of the weapons used in all the cases. One similarity is the suspects in all five cases took care to partially cover their faces with a cloth, bandana or, possibly a shirt pulled up. A robber who is about 6 feet tall with a thin build also appears to be a theme. On the other hand, there are varying descriptions of the race of the suspects.

The gunman in the Quiznos robbery was a white or light-skinned black man. While witnesses could not determine his age, they said he was about 6 feet tall with a thin build. He was wearing blue jeans, black sneakers, gloves and possibly a cap under his hood.

The would-be robbers of Panda Express were both said to be white men in their late teens or early 20s. Like the Quiznos robber, these two wore a cloth — more specifically white bandanas — covering their faces.

One of the Panda Express suspects wore a black hood over his head. While the Quiznos robber was armed with a black semi-automatic handgun, one of the Panda Express robbers brandished  a silver chrome handgun.  This man was also about 6 feet 1 inch tall and had a thin build. 

The second Panda Express robber only simulated holding a gun in his waistband. Witnesses described him as 5 feet 8 inches tall with a medium build. Like the Quiznos robber, he wore black sunglasses.

The Taco Bell robbers both were described as black men, ages unknown, and both were armed with gray, small-caliber semiautomatic handguns. Both were wearing hoodie sweatshirts and had white masks or shirts pulled up to cover their faces. One of the robbers was 5 feet 8 inches tall. The other was 6 feet tall and thin.

Anyone who may have seen the suspects fleeing through the shopping center or with other information about the Quiznos robbery or the attempted robbery last week is encouraged to call the Walnut Creek police at 925-943-5844.