Captured On Video: Armed Robbers Hit At Least 2 Stores In Santa Ana
SANTA ANA (CBSLA) -- A pair of armed robbers wearing hoodies and masks hit at least two stores in Santa Ana and a lot of it was captured on video.
CBS2/KCAL9's Lesley Marin spoke to two store owners who didn't want their faces shown, one of whom said the men walked in, armed with guns, and demanded cash.
Police say the men hit a cafe and then another store -- a donut shop less than a half mile away -- where things did not go down as easily.
"I've been here since 89 almost 30 years, and a thing like this never happened," said Wong Pho.
But on July 4, Pho says he was faced by the two armed robbery suspects at Dey's Donuts just after 7 a.m.
While one suspect watches the door, the other approaches Pho who was behind the counter.
"First, I thought it was a joke," Pho says, "But then I come to realize oh my God, it's real. And I just [got] scared."
Pho was unable to get the register open -- so he gave the suspects about $20.
But then he fought back. He picks up a tape dispenser and chucks it at the men.
"That's unbelievable," Pho says, "I could not believe…myself. I don't know what I was thinking. Maybe it was just instinct -- bad instinct though."
Police said the same two men brazenly robbed M & Toi Cafe minutes earlier.
Security video from inside the cafe shows them take two customers to the floor and then heading to the cash register. An employee is shown furiously emptying the register.
No one was hurt, but authorities said the suspect's guns were loaded and ready to shoot.
"One looks like a Colt single action semi-automatic weapon, it was cocked and locked and he's throwing it around. It could have very easily gone off," says Santa Ana Police spokesperson Anthony Bertagna.
Today, the doors of the cafe remain locked. The woman behind the counter says she is too scared to open.
If you have information about the two suspects, Santa Ana Police would like to hear from you.