Friday robbery leads to uproar and criticism of Sheriff's Department

By Jason Pesick on September 23, 2008 8:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (10)
A botched robbery at a Food-4-Less grocery store last Friday prompted a heap of postings by bloggers, criticizing law enforcement for failing to quickly apprehend the perpetrators and denouncing leadership at the Sheriff's Department.

None of the five robbers has been identified or arrested. The sheriff's High Tech Crime Detail is enhancing surveillance photos of the robbery, and some should be distributed to the media in the next few days, sheriff's Sgt. Don Lupear said.

The light blue Toyota minivan, used as the getaway vehicle and abandoned across the street from the market after the robbery, is undergoing processing at the sheriff's crime lab in San Bernardino, Lupear said.
Since the incident, there have been more than 40 postings on The Sun's 24/7 blog - the most postings of any item since the blog's launch last month.

Readers have been critical of the Sheriff's Department, alleging plummeting morale overall and weak leadership at the Highland station by Capt. Bobby Phillips and his command staff.

One blogger who claimed to be an employee at the Highland station wrote, "Phillips golfs more than he works and very few of the deputies like him. He only thinks of himself and does not support us. The Sheriff himself doesn't seem to be concerned with much of what is going on in the department anymore."

Phillips and sheriff's spokeswoman Jodi Miller declined to comment on the anonymous blog postings.

Highland Mayor Penny Lilburn said she doubts the people who posted the comments are who they say they are, and that the comments miss the mark.

"This isn't a Bobby Phillips issue. This isn't a morale issue. This is a crime issue," Lilburn said. "When we have a crime in Highland, I can assure you every deputy is committed to going on that call."

Though some sheriff's employees may have misgivings, Lilburn said she knows Highland deputies well enough to know they don't despise their work environment to the extent expressed on the blog.

"I don't think we have the level of staff that would stoop to this level of blogging and badmouth the department they work for," she said.

Criticism of the Sheriff's Department centered mostly around allegations of unfair promotional practices within the department and unqualified people running the department.
Readers were also critical of the newspaper's description, or lack thereof, of the robbers by
not identifying their race.

The Sun's policy is to not identify perpetrators of crimes by race unless law enforcement provides at least three other descriptive physical traits.

A California Highway Patrol officer patrolling the area at the time of the robbery also came under scrutiny as to how he handled the situation.

One of the robbers pointed a gun at the officer while fleeing, so the officer backed his car up and called for backup, CHP Officer Joe Ramos said.

"The officer's not going to go into a battle by himself knowing that there's several individuals, possibly all armed and not knowing they had just robbed some place," Ramos said, adding that the officer is a department veteran of about 20 years.

Just before 8 p.m. Friday, two men with bandanas partially covering their faces walked into the Food-4--Less on Highland Avenue, at Victoria Avenue, and robbed the Money Tree check cashing business inside.

One of the robbers held a clerk at gunpoint while the other jumped the counter plundered cash from a safe. The other robber took money from a cash drawer, Lupear said.

They fled the store and got into the getaway van, where three other men were waiting for them. They pulled out of the parking lot onto Victoria Avenue and cut off the the CHP officer, Ramos said.

The officer pulled the van over on Case Street for a right-of-way violation. The robbers got out of the van and fled on foot, one pointing a gun at the officer as he fled, Ramos said.

One area resident came home and surprised one of the robbers, who was hiding out in the man's garage at the Parkwood Knoll Apartments, Lupear said.

"He said he was looking for his girlfriend and immediately ran away," Lupear said of the robber.

Deputies recovered stolen money inside the garage, as well as a bandana, a sweatshirt, and a hat believed worn by the robber.

Investigators believe the robbers switched vehicles or took refuge at a nearby residence.

They're hoping surveillance photos and any DNA evidence gleaned from the physical evidence will help turn up some solid leads.

Anyone with information is asked to call the Highland Sheriff's station at (909) 425-9793.

joe.nelson@inlandnewspapers.com