MILPITAS — An East Bay man is in jail for allegedly threatening to shoot a clerk who tried to stop him from stealing alcohol from a Milpitas grocery store earlier this month.
The armed robbery was reported at the Lucky supermarket at 1350 S. Park Victoria Drive on Dec. 8.
Milpitas police on Tuesday said an employee confronted 25-year-old Ezequiel Gutierrez, of Hayward, as he tried to steal a “large amount of alcohol.” At one point, Gutierrez allegedly pulled a handgun from his waistband and threatened to shoot the clerk.
The employee retreated to the rear of the supermarket and watched Gutierrez get into a gold 2004 Nissan Quest, change his clothes and leave the area on foot, according to police.
Officers arrived and stopped the Nissan as it was leaving the store parking lot. They detained several occupants and recovered a .38-caliber Smith & Wesson handgun, according to police. The weapon, police said, had been reported stolen out of Las Vegas.
Gutierrez was spotted a short time later leaving a nearby restaurant. He was arrested and identified as the armed robber by witnesses and through surveillance footage, according to police. A search of the restaurant’s restroom also turned up a holster that fit the gun.
Gutierrez, who was on post-release community supervision for felony evading, was booked into Santa Clara County Jail for robbery and weapons violations, among other charges. He was being held at the Elmwood Correctional Facility in Milpitas on $110,000 bail.
