A Covina laundromat employee was struck in the arm by a crowbar-wielding, cross-dressing robbery suspect who lost his wig when confronted while prying open a video game machine, police reported Monday.
The robbery and assault happened at 6:36 a.m. Sunday in the 800 block of West Covina Boulevard, said Covina police Sgt. Gregg Peterson.
The suspect first caught the employee’s eye via the laundromat’s surveillance system, Peterson said. She confronted the suspect as he allegedly attempted to remove money from the machine.
“The employee initially thought the suspect was female because the suspect was wearing a dress and had long hair. However, when she confronted the suspect, she realized it was a male because his wig fell off,” the sergeant said.
The suspect allegedly struck the employee on the arm when she persisted in trying to detain him. She chased him out of the business and saw him getting into a vehicle whose driver sped away, Peterson said.
The clerk gave Covina police a description of the vehicle, which officers stopped nearby. The suspect, identified as 62-year-old Charles Durant of San Jacinto, was booked into the city jail on suspicion of robbery and assault with a deadly weapon, with bail set at $405,000, the sergeant said.
The driver, identified as 40-year-old Gabriel Curiel of La Puente, was booked on suspicion of robbery and possession of burglary tools and held in lieu of $50,000 bail in the Covina jail, Peterson said.
— City News Service