Man Accused Of Robbing Glendale Store With Blowtorch Remains At Large

GLENDALE (CBSLA.com) — A man who police suspect used a blowtorch to rob a Glendale market remained at large Tuesday.

Security footage showed the unidentified man entering Gardenia Market and Deli on Pennsylvania Avenue on Jan. 17 and purchasing a cup of coffee.

Fifteen minutes later, police said, the same man appears to enter the store. This time, though, he wore a black trench coat and beanie and carried a torch, according to footage.

"We encountered a few incidents here and there but nothing like this," Raymond Cherfane, who's owned the store for 14 years, told KCAL9's Brittney Hopper.

Cherfane said his employee, who has a wife and kids, was behind the counter when confronted by the man.

At one point, the man is seen walking around the corner of the counter and lighting the blowtorch.

The man also threatened to set the store on fire as well as the employee if he didn't open the cash register, according to Cherfane.

"Thank God nothing happened to my employee," Cherfane said. "He was safe. The way he handled it was perfect, you know? But you feel sad. You have that sadness inside of you like, 'Why this is happening?' "

The man stole an undisclosed amount of cash, a bottle of vodka and other items before fleeing in a Chevy Suburban, police said.