Not your average payday loan store robbery
I have written a lot of posts about payday loan store robberies, and most of them go like this:
Some guy robbed a payday loan store in some state. Police are seeking him.
However, a robber in California recently was so determined to get away with an undisclosed amount of cash from a payday loan store that he took a hostage and led the police on a high-speed chase.
Lake Forest, California
That’s where this whole episode went down: Lake Forest in Orange County, California, at a store called PayDay Loan. The robber, in traditional robber style, entered the building, pointed the gun and demanded the money.
Only the store had a silent alarm system, and the cops were on their way. This is where the story gets interesting.
Wrong place, wrong time
If only this sign would work.
The police arrived just as the robber was leaving, and rather than surrender to the inevitable, he decided to involve an innocent bystander. He grabbed a a61-year-old male customer, forced him into his SUV at gunpoint and sped off with the man and the cash.
Police followed, and the robber proceeded to lead the police on a high-speed chase that at times reached speeds of 120 mph. Schools were put on lockdown, as police and suspects sped from on the freeway and around Laguna Hills and Laguna Niguel. The chase lasted about an hour.
Under arrest
Of course, the chase had to end some time. When it did, the police freed the unharmed hostage and arrested the suspect. They recovered the cash, they took the gun and they continued with the business of keeping Orange County safe.
The moral of this story is that payday loan stores and any other frequently targeted establishment should definitely invest in one of those silent alarm systems. Payday loan stores often get targeted by robbers because they keep a large amount of cash on hand. Anything you can do to get police officers on the scene before the robber is off the scene will help deter future criminals from endangering employees and customers again.
Wow… the store actually had a security system? Amazing. I’ve read your other articles and it seemed like all the payday loan stores that were targeted never really had a good security system in place. Payday loan stores are financial institutions, quite similar to banks and credit unions. They handle money… period. Since they generally have a large amount of cash on hand, investing in a more sophisticated security system is definitely a must.