$20,000 REWARD OFFERED FOR TIPS TO SOLVE STRING OF NEIGHBORHOOD MARKET ROBBERIES

East County News Service

December 22, 2023 (San Diego)—The Neighborhood Market Association (NMA) held a press conference on Dec. 18 outside the Emerald Convenience Store in La Mesa to announce that it is offering a $10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of suspects in a series of armed robberies.

“A dangerous gang of gun-wielding criminals is terrorizing local small businesses in a series of armed `take-over’ style robberies at more than a dozen locations in the city and county of San Diego. Police have expressed concerns that these violent robberies could cause serious injury or death to innocent store employees,” a press release from the NMA states.

Last week, at least 13 convenience stores across  San Diego County were robbed; new surveillance video shows thieves yanking out cash registers and fleeing with the cash.

San Diego Police investigators believe at least 10 of the recent robberies were committed by the same group of people, ECM news partner 10 News reports.

At Monday’s news conference, members of the NMA thanked law enforcement for their diligent efforts to solve these crimes, including the recent arrest of three juvenile suspects. NMA President Arkan Somo announced a $20,000 reward offered by the NMA for information leading to the arrests and conviction of the suspects. In addition, San Diego Crime Stoppers is offering up to $1,000 for information leading to arrests.

“We are proud of the partnerships with both our law enforcement and community partners. We will continue in our efforts to put a stop to these violent crimes.” Sheriff Kelly Martinez said.

“We express our gratitude to law enforcement agencies around the county for their hard work in investigating these very dangerous crimes,” Somo said. “We are confident the NMA reward gives police and deputies an additional tool to solve this crime spree and protect our family-owned businesses, employees, customers, and our community.”

If you have any information about these robberies, please contact San Diego County Crime Stoppers at 1-888-580-8477.