84-Year-Old Stockton Ice Cream Vendor Held At Gunpoint, Suspects Still At Large
STOCKTON (CBS13) — An 84-year-old ice cream vendor was held at gunpoint by two suspects in front of his home after a day of work in Stockton. The suspects have not been found.
Juan Mendoza Martinez said he got home around 7 p.m. on Tuesday. He owns an ice cream cart and it's how he makes a living, he said. Outside the front of his house, a white sedan with a man and woman inside pulled up in front of his home and asked to buy ice cream.
Before Martinez could get out ice cream, the man, only identified by Stockton police as a Black male, got out of the car with a handgun and demanded all the money Martinez had on him.
Martinez, thinking fast, grabbed a nearby pipe, but before he could use it, the man ran off. Shortly after, he said the woman, only identified by police as a White female, grabbed his wallet from the back pocket of his jeans.
In total, Martinez said they got away with $300. Stockton police said he did "everything right" because he didn't fight back or escalate the situation but instead, gave the suspects what they wanted.
Martinez, who told CBS13 he was 84, added that this was not the first robbery he'd experienced in Stockton, but close to the 12th.
"Sometimes, these suspects will be driving around neighborhoods looking to find an easy target of opportunity," said Joe Silva, public information officer for the Stockton Police Department.
Silva said cart vendors are targeted because criminals believe they have large sums of cash on them. Stockton police recommend vendors avoid carrying a large sum of cash and at the end of the day, take the money to a bank as quickly as possible.
Stockton Crimestoppers is offering a reward for anyone with information that may lead to an arrest.
