Police Search For Man Who Posed As Blind Veteran In Robbery

WILMINGTON (CBSLA.com) — Police continue to search for a man who posed as a blind veteran in order to pull off a $5,000 robbery that was caught on camera.

The robbery occurred at a check-cashing business at Figueroa Avenue and Pacific Coast Highway in Wilmington, after the man wearing a baseball cap and pretending to use a white cane to feel his surroundings, as a blind individual would, entered the business.

The man gained the trust of the clerk, who opened the door to the back room in order to give him water. At that point, the man, who LAPD says was pretending to be blind, pulled a gun on the clerk and demanded money from her.

"This is very unusual," LAPD Detective Kevin Reynolds said. "This isn't the type of ruse that you would expect to see on a robbery."

The clerk reported to police that the man filled out a form to cash checks at the business, and she says she will never be so trusting to let her guard down again.