Officials seek man who robbed Sonic employee

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June 27, 2012

Officials seek man who robbed Sonic employee

Judy Sheridan CNHI The Weatherford Democrat Wed Jun 27, 2012, 08:00 AM CDT

ALEDO — A tall man wearing dark clothes and a tan ski mask threatened a Sonic employee with a handgun in the Sonic parking lot in Aledo late Monday night, escaping with her tip money, according to a report filed by the Parker County Sheriff’s Department.

The Sheriff’s Office has named the aggravated robbery — which took place in the 300 block of FM 1187 shortly after 11 p.m., according to Sheriff Larry Fowler — the Crime of the Week.

Deputies are reporting that a 20-year-old female employee told them she saw a man crouched behind a car in the parking lot and spoke to him, thinking he was another employee.

The man then turned quickly around and approached her, she said, pointing a handgun at her and demanding her money.

According to the sheriff’s office the woman surrendered $60, and the suspect then ran behind a fence, out of view.

The suspect was described as 6-foot 2 inches with a deep voice. He was unknown by the victim, who could not identify his race.

Sonic General Manager Andi Armstrong said the incident frightened her as well as the victim, a car hop.

“I was in the back, finishing paperwork,” she said. “I think he was planning on trying to get the [deposit] from me.

“He was looking inside at me when she saw him and hollered, ‘Hey!’ She thought he was an employee trying to scare me.”

Armstrong said the man’s image was not caught on surveillance cameras, but might have been recorded by cameras at a nearby bank, where investigators told her he may have parked a getaway car.

The incident — which she said was completely unexpected — will alter Sonic procedures, she said.

“I’ve already gone over some things with the other two managers,” she said. “It’s going to change our way of doing things at night.”

Anyone with information about the suspect or his location is encouraged to call the Sheriff’s Office at 817-599-5555. Informants may remain anonymous and may receive up to $1,000 for information leading to the arrest and indictment of the suspect.