Only two months after opening, a new dessert shop on Albuquerque's west side was targeted by a robber who stole an estimated $300.
Xandria Pattin, manager of the new dessert shop Suga Suga, said a male robber entered the store in broad daylight and demanded an employee give him money from the cash register. The robber didn’t display a weapon but kept his hands in his pocket as if he might have one. The employee cooperated with the robber.
“She went to the drawer and as she’s taking the money out, he’s just cussing at her telling her to hurry up,” Pattin told KRQE while describing the incident. “She was very frightened. I hope it doesn’t happen again because it was scary and for her to have to deal with that, I feel really bad.”
Surveillance video shows the robber wearing a red baseball cap and red gym shorts, trying to enter a locked side door. When he entered the front door, he was greeted by the employee, who quickly sensed something was not right.
“He had his hands in his pockets the whole time he was in there,” Pattin said. “I kind of just concluded that he might have maybe had something in his pockets. He didn’t pull anything or say anything about weapons.”
The employee gave the robber the money, and he escaped before the police could arrive. The robber is described as 5 feet, 10 inches tall, with a Zia symbol tattoo on his neck. Police believe the same suspect has robbed other local businesses.
Robberies and vandalism have plagued Albuquerque businesses in recent months, prompting owners to contemplate whether staying in business is worth the frustration.
“It just affects us badly because we are a small business,” Pattin said. “When people do stuff like that it’s hard for us to stay in business.”