Armed gunman nets little cash
MILAN, N.M. –
Petro Gas Station services Americans from all areas of the country, located just blocks off of Historic Route 66, with off- and on-ramps for Interstate 40 surrounding the gas station. Petro is usually busy, with shoppers coming in and out at all hours.
On July 9, around 2:40 a.m., a man dressed in a camouflage hat with an unidentified logo, a longsleeve black shirt with a short-sleeve black shirt on top, and a black mask walked into the store. The cashier was busy in a different part of the store when the man walked up to the counter where a normal customer would pay for their goods.
Video footage examined by the Cibola Citizen shows that the robber had a handgun out while waiting for the cashier to step up to the cash register. As the employee walked up, ready to scan the man’s items, the robber showed the gun clearly and allegedly said, “Give me all your money. I ain’t playing (sic.)” The robber then waved the handgun around as the cashier opened the cash register, which had recently been emptied of most of its cash, and handed the robber an undisclosed amount of money.
The robber walked calmly out of the store, and out of camera view where he was lost going into the trucker lot. The cashier immediately pulled out his phone and dialed 911.
Officers canvassed the Petro area but were unable to locate a suspect with the robber’s description. The robber did not physically injure the cashier.
The robber was seen wearing a camouflaged cap, potentially known as a “Tac-Cap” or tactical hat. He wore sand-colored pants, with similarly colored shoes, and two shirts, a long-sleeve black shirt with a short-sleeve black shirt on top. The handgun the robber carried appeared to be mostly black and appeared to be a 9- millimeter in style. The suspect appeared to be dark complected.
The Acoma Police Department pulled over a semitruck not long after the robbery at the 102 Travel Center on suspicion of robbing the Milan Petro. The Cibola County Sheriff’s Deputy went to go check on this lead – using photos of the suspect from security footage which were blurry and would not show well in print, which is why they are not attached to this story. CCSO was able to confirm that the man pulled over by Acoma Police was not the suspect MPD is looking for.
MPD Chief Carl Ustupksi said that it does not appear this robbery was connected with the Black Cap Bandit robbery of Wells Fargo in Grants just days earlier.
Anyone with information is being asked to call Milan Police Department at 505-285-3466, or the Cibola County Crimestoppers at 505- 287-8400. The robber is considered armed and dangerous, if you see him, do not approach, call 911.