A store owned by an Indian-American Shyamal Patel was robbed at gunpoint in the US State of Virginiaon October 8. The Chesterfield County Police Department is on the lookout for a male suspect who robbed the Smokies Smoke Lounge on Woods Edge Road.
According to the police, the robbery occurred at around 5 a.m, when a man entered the store and pointed a gun at the clerk demanding cash. The man took an unknown amount of money. The Chesterfield Police announced that the suspect is of an unknown race, about 5 feet and 6 inches tall with a medium build, and was wearing a grey hoodie, dark-colored pants, black shoes, and a dark-colored mask.
Reportedly, this is the second time that the store has been robbed at gunpoint, the first instance occurring back in April. Previously store owner Patel said that two men robbed the store — when it was under a different shop name. “The K-9 came in and they knew exactly where they ran away — which direction they went in,” Patel described to the officials in April.
In the Oct. 8 robbery, Patel believes the suspect may be a former employee of his from two years ago, adding that his security cameras gave him a better look. The said employee was banned from the store back in February.
“Last week he came in and his leg was limping. We checked the video, his left leg was still limping when he walked out of the door,” said Patel, “He sounded the same, he ran away the same way that we’ve seen him before.”
Since this incident, Patel has added 12 additional security cameras to the shop and will continue to increase safety measures with a new security system.
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