Recent uptick in liquor store robberies has Fresno police on alert

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- Police are searching for this man in the red Fresno State hoodie after he was caught on security cameras robbing the Varsity Liquor store on Ashland near First Street late Tuesday.

The suspect made off with an undisclosed amount of cash and a number of liquor bottles after threatening the clerk with a handgun

"After the robbery was committed the suspect ran west from the store and its believed that there was a car waiting for him unknown description that drove off west from the location itself," said Sgt. Brian Valles.

Detectives believe the robbery was an isolated incident but is part of a recent trend of liquor store holdups across the city.

Tuesday's armed robbery was the fourth one in Fresno this week.

"Although there seems to be an uptick in robberies there's no indication that there's any type of series that they're related based on the fact that the suspects are way different and they use different methods using when they're going in," Valles said.

Despite the recent uptick, Fresno Police say the number of robberies in 2019 is at the same level they saw last year at this time

"As far as robberies go citywide we're even the same amount of robberies were committed this year and last year and it's only been this week that we've seen this recent spike of commercial robberies go up," Valles said.

If you have information about this case, you are urged to contact Valley Crime Stoppers. You could be eligible to receive a cash reward if you provide information anonymously that leads to an arrest. To leave a tip, call 888-498-7867, or fill out the form at ABC30.com/CrimeStoppers.