Caught On Camera: Man Pretends To Rob Store, Then Turns Around And Actually Robs It

MODESTO (CBS13) — A bizarre crime was caught on camera in Modesto. Officers said a man pretended to rob a store, then seconds later, he really did.

Police think he was planning to rob the place the whole time but did not have the guts to follow through, so he played it off as a joke.

The incident happened more than a month ago at the Stop N' Save on Yosemite Boulevard near Riverside Drive. Just before 3:30 a.m. on March 19, a man dressed in a hooded jacket with a light-blue cloth covering his face ran up to the clerk and pretends to rob the store. The man then revealed his face and made small talk with the clerk.

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He identified himself as Shooter to the clerk. "Shooter" is then seen walking toward the exit where police say a second man was keeping a lookout. Seconds later the man returns with the cloth covering his face once again, but this time he was much more aggressive.

"I need the register. I need it all. Huh? I need to rob the register. I need all that (expletive)," the man said.

The clerk did not comply, which just agitated "Shooter." After telling the man he has nothing in the register, the clerk looks up at the camera and tells the man this encounter is on camera now.

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This did not deter the man and he jumped on the counter to take the register. Now frustrated, he forced his way through a door to get behind the counter and took off with the register drawer.

Neither the clerk nor the store owner would talk to CBS13 on camera, citing store policy, but shoppers said robberies happen there entirely too often.