A $1,000 reward is on the table for anyone with information about an armed robbery at a 99-Cents store in the Mid-City area. Police say around 1:30p.m., December 13th, 25-year-old Ariel Burrus and 22-year-old Irene Lee entered the store on University Avenue. Both suspects went to the checkout counter and Lee pretended as if she was going to pay for just one item. An employee blocked the exit of the store and demanded that Lee show him what she had taken. Neither Lee nor Burrus would cooperate.
Burrus tried shoving her way past the employee, but was unsuccessful. Burrus then pulled out a small caliber revolver from the back of her waistband and pointed it at the back of the employee’s head. Burrus cocked back the hammer of the gun, and told the employee “let us go.” The employee was able to turn, tackle Burrus to the ground, and took the gun away from her. Lee tried kicking the employee while he was on the ground. Burrus demanded the gun back and told the employee that she will come back and kill him. The employee held onto the gun and both suspects left the store before police officers arrived.
Investigators were able to identify both suspects from evidence recovered at the scene.