Man Arrested After Threatening Store Employee With Knife During Robbery

An Azusa man was arrested Wednesday evening after allegedly threatening a store loss prevention employee with a knife while stealing merchandise from a business in the 700 block of East Colorado Boulevard, according to Pasadena Police Lieutenant Anthony Russo.

Johnny Lopez, 30, was booked on suspicion of robbery and shoplifting after officers located him about three blocks from the scene shortly after the incident was reported at about 5:51 p.m., Russo said.

Officers responded to a report of a robbery that had just occurred and contacted a loss prevention employee who reported seeing Lopez take merchandise from the store and leave without paying, according to Russo.

When the employee confronted Lopez outside the business, Lopez allegedly produced a pocketknife with an approximately 3-inch blade and told the employee to back away for his safety, Russo said.

The employee complied, and Lopez fled on foot, according to Russo.

Responding officers canvassed the area and located Lopez nearby, Russo said. The loss prevention employee positively identified him as the suspect, and officers recovered both the knife and the stolen merchandise, according to Russo.

The victim, a 31-year-old Alhambra man employed as a loss prevention officer, was not injured during the encounter, Russo said.

Anyone with information about this case is encouraged to call the Pasadena Police at (626) 744-4241 or report information anonymously by contacting “Crime Stoppers” at (800) 222-TIPS (8477) via your smartphone by downloading the “P3 Tips” Mobile App on Google Play or the Apple App Store, or by using the website http://lacrimestoppers.org