A terrified clerk confronted with a gun cleaned out the cash register for two robbers at a little mom-and-pop convenience store in Summerfield.
Deputies responded to a robbery at Little Orange Groceries on U.S. 301 in Summerfield around 7:55 p.m. Tuesday, according to an arrest report from the Marion County Sheriff’s Office. The manager had gotten a call from the clerk, advising that 35-year-old Josue Ramos-Badillo of Ocklawaha and 52-year-old Jorge Enrique Lopez Candebat of Jacksonville robbed the store at gunpoint for cash.
Video surveillance showed a black Dodge pickup truck pulled into the store where the pair got out to wait while a customer left the parking lot. They then went inside, and Ramos-Badillo took a Heinekin beer out of a six pack in the cooler to take to the counter. He proceeded to pull a black handgun from his pocket and set it on the counter in front of the clerk, the report said.
She handed him cash while Lopez Candebat walked outside. After taking the money, the pair got back into their truck and left northbound on U.S. Hwy. 301, all in a minute’s time, the report said.
The clerk later added that her day had been normal until the robbery. She handed Romas-Badillo $400 in 20-dollar bills, and after the pair left, she called the manager who then contacted law enforcement. She also recalled being scared and concerned for her safety, which was why she gave him the money when he asked for it, the report said.
Descriptions of the truck and the suspects were subsequently given to responding deputies who found them at North U.S. Hwy. 441 and Hwy. 329 in Citra. A search of their persons revealed $360 in the pants pocket of Lopez Candebat and $60 in the left breast pocket of his jacket, the report said.
When interviewed, Ramos-Badillo explained he was going through economic hardship and family issues while in Jacksonville. He came down from there with Lopez Candebat, and they were trying to find money due to not having enough to get back to Jacksonville. They discussed robbing the store while they were driving, the report said.
The firearm used in the robbery belonged to Lopez Candebat and would still be in the center console of the truck. Ramos-Badillo admitted his involvement and stated that when they got back in the vehicle, he heard Lopez Candebat count the money up to $360, the report said,.
As for Lopez Candebat, he did not want to go into much detail about his involvement but did say they were looking for a way to get money. He promised they had no intention of harming anybody, the report said.
Ramos-Badillo and Lopez Candebat were both arrested on charge of commiting robbery with a firearm. They were transported to Marion County Jail to be held without bond.