WEST COVINA — An armed man abandoned a pharmacy robbery Sunday morning after he was apparently disappointed by the amount of cash in the register, authorities said.
The incident, which was being investigated as an attempted robbery, took place about 9:40 a.m. at a CVS Pharmacy at 702 N. Azusa Avenue, West Covina police Lt. Dennis Patton said.
A man entered the store and approached a clerk with a bottle of water, as if he was about to purchase it, the lieutenant said.
He then lifted his sweatshirt to expose a black, semi-automatic handgun tucked into his waistband, Patton said. “He demanded money from the clerk.”
The employee removed placed 20-, 10- and 5-dollar bills from the register, but the would-be robber turned his nose up at the cash.
After asking if that was all the money the clerk had, he stated, “Keep it,” before leaving the store empty-handed, Patton said.
Police searched the area with help from a Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department helicopter, but were unable to find the suspect, he said. The gunman was described as a black man with a light complexion between 25 and 30 years old, about 6 feet 1 inch tall, 180 pounds and clean-shaven. He wore a black hat with a white logo on the front, a light gray zip-up hooded sweatshirt, black sweatpants and black shoes.