A local homeless man made a first appearance in Clark County Superior Court on Friday for allegedly robbing an east Vancouver convenience store at knife-point.
The manager at Chevron, 16406 S.E. 26th St., called 911 around 3:15 p.m. Thursday to report that the store had been robbed. She told police she was working at the cigarette rack with her back to the store when she heard a man’s voice say, “Give me the money,” from behind her, according to documents filed in court.
The manager turned around to find a man wielding a kitchen knife. He again said, “Give me the money.” She told her co-worker to open the till, at which point the man reached in and grabbed the cash, the documents said. He also took several packs of cigarettes and cigars before running out of the store.
Once he was outside, the manager hit the hold-up alarm. She discovered that $137.88 was missing from the till.
Another employee who was working in the store’s cooler heard the hold-up alarm, ran out of the store and followed the robber across the parking lot. She lost sight of him near the Renaissance at 29th Apartments.
Vancouver police searched the area and found Josue J. Martinez-Carcamo, 19, nearby in the 17400 block of Southeast 27th Street. He was detained because he partially matched the suspect description, but was not wearing the mask, jacket or backpack that witnesses had described. He had a wad of money inside his back pocket, and money in his wallet that totalled $174, court documents said.
A jacket and a backpack containing a kitchen knife were found in the area. Martinez-Carcamo was arrested and booked into the Clark County Jail on suspicion of first-degree robbery, with bail set at $50,000.
Martinez-Carcamo has been unemployed for about a month, according to court documents. His next court appearance is scheduled for Friday.
