Tuesday, December 3, 2024

Armed Robbery at Chandelier Drive-Thru Tree in Leggett Saturday

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Suspect in armed robbery at the Drive Thru Tree as caught on camera holding a gun as he came in the door of the toll booth.
Suspect in armed robbery at the Drive Thru Tree as caught on camera holding a gun as he came in the door of the toll booth.

An armed robbery occurred at the Chandelier Drive-Thru Tree in Leggett this Saturday at approximately 5:30 p.m. The victim was the 18-year-old girl at the toll booth.

We spoke to one of the employees, Lee Ann St. Clair, who told us that the robbery occurred soon after her shift ended. She said she first learned about it when she received call from her daughter another employee who had heard what happened from the victim. “My daughter told me a man with a gun had just robbed the tollbooth,” St. Clair said. She rushed to the scene but the assailant had already fled.

The tollbooth attendant, 18-year-old Jenny, was confronted by the armed man who threatened her directly, St. Clair told us. “He put the gun in her face and cocked it…Jenny did the exact right thing…She put her hands up…She just opened up the drawer and gave him the money.”

After taking the cash, the robber escaped–probably on an ATV he had hidden behind the attraction near Highway 271. Soon afterward, what people thought were gunshots were heard but it was later believed it was the suspect’s ATV backfiring as he sped towards south Leggett.

In response to the call from her daughter, St. Clair instructed Penny, also 18, to get the money out of the registers at the nearby gift shop and lock the doors. St. Clair said Penny alerted the tourists inside about the danger telling them to either leave or join her while she barricaded herself in until law enforcement arrived. The tourists chose to leave.

Law enforcement took about an hour to arrive, St. Clair said.

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Suspect in armed robbery at the Drive Thru Tree.
Suspect in armed robbery at the Drive Thru Tree as caught on camera at the Leggett store.

The suspect, who was recorded by surveillance cameras at both the toll booth and the Leggett grocery store, wore a mask during the robbery but was previously seen unmasked in the same outfit. “He wore a red shirt, orange jeans, and the same shoes,” St. Clair told us. She also said that footage from the store showed the suspect purchasing beer shortly before the robbery.

We’ve reached out to the Mendocino County Sheriff’s Department and will update when we have more information. Anyone with any information should contact the Mendocino Sheriff’s Dispatch Center at (707) 463-4086.

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10 COMMENTS

  1. One of those cultural enrichers from over the border. On an ATV? Obviously up in the hills getting his grow on. Probably setting up camp as we speak. LOSER.

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Kym Kemp
Kym Kemphttps://kymkemp.com
That’s me to the left, Kym Kemp. I do everything from photography to selling ads to writing stories. I’m totally in love with the Emerald Counties, that incredible place south of the Oregon border and east of the Pacific Ocean that is home to redwoods, rolling hills, Victorian mansions, hippie homesteads, wildflowers, and wildlife.

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