Bandits storm Church’s Chicken and steal $16,000, cellphones

- File photo

Four armed bandits stormed the Diego Martin branch of fast-food outlet Church's Chicken, beating a young employee and escaping with thousands of dollars in cash and cellphones.

The 21-year-old victim said that around 12.40 am on December 18, he was emptying garbage through the rear door of the restaurant when a silver station wagon pulled up.

Four men got out, forced him back inside the kitchen area and robbed the establishment. The men stole the day’s sales, amounting to about $16,000, before robbing staff members of their cellphones.

During the ordeal, one suspect kicked the 21-year-old man in his head before stealing his black Samsung S22 cellphone valued $1,500.

One suspect was described as light-skinned, slim-built, about five feet 11 inches tall, wearing a green tracksuit and a mask. Another was said to be dark-brown in complexion, strongly built with a beard, an Afro hairstyle and a prominent nose, who wore a black jacket and black pants.

Descriptions of the other two suspects were not available. The men escaped through the same back door and fled in the same vehicle. Investigations are continuing.

3 held for robbery

Meanwhile, three men from Diego Martin have been arrested in connection with a violent daylight robbery at a restaurant car park in Arouca.

The victim, a 60-year-old woman from Five Rivers, Arouca, reported that around 3.15 pm on December 17 she was seated in her husband’s grey Mitsubishi Outlander in the car park of Little Lai Restaurant on the Eastern Main Road, Arouca, after visiting Republic Bank, Trincity.

She said while waiting for her husband, two men approached the vehicle. One opened the front passenger door where she was seated and began hitting her while demanding items. The other man opened the driver’s door and took two envelopes containing bank documents and $80 in cash.

The woman struggled with her attacker before forcing her out of the car and started screaming “bandit, bandit,” prompting both suspects to flee along the Eastern Main Road.

Information later revealed the men escaped in a black Nissan Tiida.

Acting on the report, officers from the Arouca Police Station and the National Crime Task Force–East, led by Sgt Evans, intercepted a black Tiida along the Churchill Roosevelt Highway near Maloney.

Three men were found inside the vehicle, which carried false registration plates. The men are aged 23, 21, and 20, all of Bagatelle, Diego Martin. At the Arouca Police Station, the victim later identified two of the men as her attackers.