Employees wrestle with gunman during armed robbery at Colton gaming store

By Nicole Comstock

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    COLTON, California (KCAL) — A handful of novelty gaming store employees found themselves helplessly watching a robber ransack their business for the third time since opening last year.

Security camera footage captured the most recent incident, showing the owner’s brother and another worker wrestling with a gunman amid an armed robbery.

It started with the armed robber walking into Retroverse, a gaming and collectibles shop in Colton, mumbling to himself “I need my money.”

“I need it more than you do,” he murmured before walking behind the counter.

He starts to steal anything he can grab before the shop owner’s brother tries to stop him, eventually wresting him to the ground.

“He was the one that went straight up WWE status, where he suplexed the guy,” owner Jovonne Bernal said.

However, his attempt to get the upper hand in the robbery, unfortunately, failed when the robber gained control and ordered the employees to the ground at gunpoint.

“I didn’t want to give him a reason to shoot me,” brother Alexander Sanchez Bernal said. “I couldn’t do anything.”

The suspect demanded Sanchez Bernal’s phone before he left with cash and Pokemon collectible cards worth a few thousand dollars, according to the store.

Bernal said this was the third time they’ve been robbed in the seven months since opening. They had another burglary and theft in November.

“Physically wise, we’ll be fine,” Sanchez Bernal said. “Mentally, that’s something else entirely.”

The Colton Police Department said they are investigating this as a potential felony armed robbery. The brothers are hoping security video from the violent encounter can help identify the suspect.

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