Fresno police looking for robber who assaulted a store clerk in Fresno

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- Fresno police are looking for a robber who beat up a store clerk. The violent attack was captured on surveillance video. Police hope the video will help lead them to the suspect.

The owner said the Midway Market is regularly hit by neighborhood residents who grab items and run out. But this latest incident turned violent, as the surveillance video shows. The video shows the running battle between the store clerk and the thief. The clerk was knocked to the ground and battered in the head before the suspect ran off. The clerk, Kuldip Singh, told us he was not badly hurt, but said the same guy has done this several times. Store Manager Lakebir Singh tells Action News he is frustrated because police didn't respond until two hours after the incident. "I called them twice, yesterday and I talked to them, and they said somebody would be there and nobody showed up."

But Fresno Police Sgt. Mark Hudson said the calls did not come in as a robbery, but rather a typical beer run, where a suspect grabs beer, or merchandise, and runs out the door. "It came to us as one of those priority calls where there's nobody there for officers to have to get there to arrest somebody. It was reported to us as the person who stole beer had left. That's unfortunate because as it turned out this person actually fought with the clerk and stole some items, so this person is actually wanted now for a robbery."

Hudson said it's possible there was a language barrier because it was not clear to the dispatcher as to what happened. But he said police are looking for the suspect Singh said he is hoping police will respond more quickly in the future. "I prefer to see them give the response, and if they say they are going to show up they should show up."

Because of Singh's concerns police have been reviewing the dispatch reports. It seems the store clerk had called police Monday night about a beer run, and when he called back on Tuesday, they initially thought he was referring to the same incident the night before, resulting in a delayed response.