YUCCA VALLEY – A man suspected of robbing a cigarette store over a year ago was caught when he tried similar tactics in holding up a taco shop on November. 10.
Michael Leon Clark, 31, of Yucca Valley, was arrested and is scheduled to appear in Superior Court this week on charges of robbing Cheap Cigarettes on October. 19, 2013, then Algoberto’s Taco Shop on November 10.
It was on November 10 when Clark walked into the taco shop at 56143 29 Palms Highway in Yucca Valley just after 10 p.m. closing time. Reports are that his faced was covered, appearing to be holding a gun under his shirt. The suspect told employees that he would shoot them if they did not give him money.
During that time, sheriff’s deputies were notified of the robbery in progress. When an employee was able to determine that Clark was using his finger simulating a gun, they were able to subdue him until deputies arrived.
Det. Corey Emon, comparing the two crimes, noted the similarities. Clark, said deputies, is now suspected in the 2013 crime when he used a jacket to cover his face, demanding money from the clerk who had been counting the day’s receipts.
The clerk handed over an undisclosed amount of money to the suspect, who walked away, last observed in the vicinity of Highway 62 and Mohawk Trail. At the time, law enforcement had no leads on the crime committed at 56129 Twentynine Palms Highway. Emon said investigators took another look at the previously unsolved crime, determining that Clark, who had spent time in prison for an unrelated offense, was in the Yucca Valley area during that time. He said evidence was discovered that linked Clark to the 2013 robbery.
Booked into Morongo Basin Jail for attempted robbery, and also for robbery in the 2013 crime, Clark is being held on $150,000 total bail for the two crimes.
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