The Patriot Ledger
Posted Apr 13, 2008 @ 09:39 AM
Last update Apr 14, 2008 @ 09:18 AM
Quincy —
For Viral Patel, the armed robbery of his convenience store, Joe’s Market, was “the most terrible thing I’ve seen in my whole life. I was very frightened.”
Patel, who bought the store at 260 Centre St. in October after working there as a clerk for three years, is just glad no one was hurt.
Police are investigating. Capt. John Dougan said that two men and another person, possibly a woman, escaped with cash and cigarette cartons after robbing the store at gunpoint. One of the men brandished a semi-automatic handgun; the three fled in a four-door white sedan.
Patel said the whole thing took place “in about a minute and a half” just before 10 p.m. Saturday.
Patel, who came to Quincy from India in 1998, was in his office at the front of the store. Rakesh Patel, one of his a clerks, was at the front counter and there was one customer in the aisles when a white car drove up and was parked directly in front of the door. Three men, all of them wearing jeans and jackets, came into the store and at least one man had a gun which he pointed at the clerk.
“They said, ‘Give us the money’ and ‘Get down on the floor,’” Patel said.
The men quickly took the money out of the cash register, picked up a key to the safe near the cash register and opened it and took the contents. They also grabbed a number of cigarette cartons and ran out.
Patel said he could not put a firm dollar amount on his losses yet, but it was “in the thousands.”
When the men first burst in, Patel knew something was wrong and started to call 911. But the first man, with the gun, ran behind the counter and saw him on the phone and Patel stopped before the emergency number was completed.
“I was surprised,” he said. “In four years of working here, nothing like this ever happened. I knew I was in a predicament, but I’m just glad nobody got hurt.”
Police asked that anyone with information to call 617-745-5764.
ma police, boston ma police, massachusetts police, massachusetts police, mass state police, mass police, ma, mass, massachusetts, massachusetts, massachutes, massachusetts law, massachusetts polece, police, officer, police officer, cops, police gear, law enforcement, police duty gear, state police, sheriff, law, police supply, police agency directory, police agency, police department, traffic officer, police dept, state trooper, dispatcher, massachusetts county sheriff, massachusetts sheriff, massachusetts department of corrections, ma doc, doc, dept of corrections, police information, civil service, ma civil service, massachusetts crime, police training, police academy, ma police academy, massachusetts officers, masscop, masscops, mpa, bpa, ibpoa, police association, massachusetts police news, massachusetts crime news, mass most wanted, police career information, police patrol, police administration, police books, crime scene training, police discussion, crime discussions, cops
About MassCops, the home for Massachusetts law enforcement.
The Massachusetts Law Enforcement Network opened in 1998 and is now a part of the New England Police Network The site is a pro-police discussion forum intended for sworn police officers and civilian law enforcement officials as well as those interested in pursuing a career in law enforcement here in Massachusetts.
The goal of The Massachusetts Law Enforcement Network is to provide an informal network of law enforcement officials here in Massachusetts for educational and informational purposes.
The forum covers many topics such as Police Related News Articles, Agency & Profession Discussions, Police Training as well as Law Enforcement Career Information.
The Massachusetts Law Enforcement Network and The New England Police Network (NEPN) and it's network sites are privately owned websites/domains and are not affiliated with or endorsed by any government association or agency.
MassCops (masscops.com) and (masscop.com) are privately owned are not affiliated with or endorsed by the Massachusetts Coalition of Police (masscop.org)
ma police, boston ma police, massachusetts police, massachusetts police, mass state police, mass police, ma, mass, massachusetts, massachusetts, massachutes, massachusetts law, massachusetts polece, police, officer, police officer, cops, police gear, law enforcement, police duty gear, state police, sheriff, law, police supply, police agency directory, police agency, police department, traffic officer, police dept, state trooper, dispatcher, massachusetts county sheriff, massachusetts sheriff, massachusetts department of corrections, ma doc, doc, dept of corrections, police information, civil service, ma civil service, massachusetts crime, police training, police academy, ma police academy, massachusetts officers, masscop, masscops, mpa, bpa, ibpoa, police association, massachusetts police news, massachusetts crime news, mass most wanted, police career information, police patrol, police administration, police books, crime scene training, police discussion, crime discussions, cops