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Published on 01/08/1996 All articles from this issue

Armed robbers leave local market empty-handed

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By Joanne Griffith Domingue / Town Crier Staff Writer

Three masked, armed would-be robbers left Adamant Mart in Los Altos without getting money or firing shots in a robbery attempt New Year's Eve at 7:55 p.m.

Youmao Qi, owner of the small, neighborhood mom-and-pop store on Los Altos Avenue, was reading a book and checking his 8-year-old son's homework , when three robbers came into the store.

One stood by the door, one waited in the middle of the shop and the third, who was not wearing a mask, approached Qi.

"I say to them, 'What's happening?' He pulled out a black gun and pointed it at me," Qi said.

"He say, 'We want money.' I think life more important than money, I give him money," Qi said.

But he couldn't get the cash register open.

The robber standing by the front door saw bright headlights approaching, Qi said, and got scared.

"They thought people were coming."

So they left in a hurry.

"We didn't follow them because maybe they give me a shot," Qi said. "We call 911. I'm a little nervous."

But 8-year-old Yingbei Qi wasn't afraid. "He plays computer games," his father said, "where he shoots bad guys."

Qi, from Shanghai, China, said he bought the store three years ago for his wife. He is a senior scientist with a pharmaceutical company.

This is the second armed robbery attempt in Los Altos in three weeks. Dec. 13 two armed men tried to rob Woodlands Liquor Store on Grant Road. They, too, were scared off before getting any money, but one did shoot the clerk in the hip.

"It's a disturbing trend, two in three weeks," said Los Altos Police Sgt. Bob Lacey. He said there was no connection between the attempted robberies. The two suspects at the liquor store were Hispanic and the three at Adamant were black, he said.