Shortly after a delivery man propped the back door of Taco Bell open early Thursday morning, a masked man rushed in, pulled out a handgun, and demanded employees hand over cash, general manager Sunny Ajibade said.
Frightened employees were ordered around the kitchen with the barrel of the gun pressed into their stomachs as the gunman ordered the staff to empty their pockets of money, Ajibade said.The manager on duty, who had been preparing to deposit the evening’s cash, handed over nearly $1,200 and the man fled south on Route 1, according to Ajibade.
Thursday’s robbery marks the fourth at the restaurant this year, according to Ajibade. A robbery in May featured similar events – masked gunman, cash demanded of employees – but that robbery had more than one suspect, he said.
Since the May robbery, that same manager has been robbed twice in the parking lot of the restaurant as he was leaving with deposit money. The manager was also on duty Thursday morning, and Ajibade said the manager believes the same suspect had been involved in all three robberies.
In the first of the parking lot robberies, the suspect was not wearing a mask, Ajibade said. The suspect “crouched behind the [manager’s] car” and waited for the manager to get in with the evening’s deposit in hand, Ajibade said.
In Thursday’s robbery, police reported the suspect’s mask only partially covering his face, enabling the manager to recognize him.
“I was thinking he was going to come back,” Ajibade said. “I was talking to my district manager and told him we need more cameras.”
Prince George’s County Police spokeswoman Cpl. Diane Richardson said police are investigating whether the robberies were connected.
Ajibade said he believed the suspect may have been waiting to rob the manager in the parking lot, but saw an opportunity when a truck arrived for an early delivery. The door was left open a few minutes while the driver got ready to unload goods, Ajibade said. Trucks normally make deliveries after 4 a.m. when employees are not present.
Although Ajibade said employees deposit cash for safe-keeping more than three times per night and cameras are set to be installed on the roof, he thinks additional measures may need to be taken.
“We were thinking about getting a security guard,” Ajibade said. “Everybody is scared now.”
Directly next door to Taco Bell, at the recently opened Los Cabos Mexican restaurant, manager Jaime Avila said they were aware of crime in the area and were getting a security system installed.
“We’re wondering when we’re next,” Avila said. “We tell employees to be careful, to not carry too much cash. I’m concerned, but what can you do?”
Tammy Hnarakis, who is leader of the North College Park Business Association, said her business was broken into multiple times this summer. She said while businesses need to take precautions against crime, there is not such a significant problem that it is keeping away patrons or potential new businesses.
“College Park has had its rash of crime, especially this summer,” Hnarakis said. “There are obviously some perpetrators that have yet to be caught. But since College Park does not have their own police department, I think we need to continue to support Prince George’s County Police.”
Contact reporter Kevin Litten at littendbk@gmail.com.
