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Men Use Big Stick to Rob Gas Station

By Tanya Roth, Esq. on December 06, 2010 | Last updated on March 21, 2019

Was Teddy Roosevelt right? To get what you want should you "speak softly and carry a big stick?"

That philosophy of negotiation worked well, at least temporarily, for two robbers who hit a convenience store and its clerk with a stick on Nov. 22. One of the big stick robbers has been captured; the second is still at large.

The two men recently walked into the convenience store attached to a Shell gas station. One suspect pretended to be interested in buying tires from the clerk, Orange County Weekly reports. Then Herlin Mendez allegedly took a swing at the clerk to drive home the demand he open the resister and hand over the cash.

A surveillance video, posted by MSNBC, shows the alleged robber threatening the clerk with the stick, or more precisely, a tree branch. 

This was no twig, making the crime a true robbery, which is the taking of property from person by force or fear. California law has what is known as a gun enhancement requirement to its sentencing laws. If, in the commission of a violent crime a gun is used, the sentence must increase. Luckily for Mendez, at this time, there is no tree branch enhancement in the sentencing guidelines.

After the surveillance tape was released, a tip led to the discovery of Mendez and the getaway minivan, a blue Ford. On arresting Mendez, the officers also seized the mini-van. Inside was a big stick.

The second robbery suspect has not yet been identified or found, reports the Weekly.

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