Gas Station Convenience Store

This took place in Michigan. In the late 1990's. I worked the afternoon shift, 3pm until midnight. At a gas station convenience store, called Stop and Shop I worked those hours for about a year and a half. I worked alone in this store on my shift. Once in awhile I worked until 5am the next morning when others never showed up to work.

Where this store was located was on the main drag more in the country where the houses were far between. A store was to the right of it but, it closed at 5pm. Other then that was a house kiddie corner from this stop and shop store and one house way down the road from it. No street lights. Only the lights to where the gas pumps were.

I worked for about nine months, before anything took place here. Then one night near midnight I heard the cans in the back room making noise as if someone was throwing them into a container of sorts. In between my customers that night, I went to look in the back room to see if anyone was there. I seen no one. So thought maybe it was mice or something. I went back to work.

All was quiet then about 1 am heard the noise again. I just figure it was mice and kept doing my work. When my manager came in at 5am I told her I heard noise in the back room, where we kept the filled and empty cans from beer and soda. She said she call in the guy who checks for mice and bugs. I left and went home.

My manager called me the next day told me the guy found no signs of mice or bugs, and that they could not figure out what I heard. There was no holes in the walls that anything from the outside could come in so I said okay.

I went back to work a few nights later and nearing midnight I heard the noise again, still didn't think nothing of it. I went to the back room to get some items to stock the cooler with. When I came out there was five guys in the store. I smiled at them and went to the counter where the cash register was. One guy stood next to the counter with his back to me. He appeared to have something in his coat pocket that he kept his right hand into. And by what I could see of him he was Hispanic. He never spoke at all. And the other four guys, where Caucasian they got beer, chips all kinds of snacks.

One guy came up and brought some of the stuff, put it on the counter, and one of the Caucasian told me this was a robbery. I told them "Let me help you get the money out" which I took the whole drawer out and set it on the counter. While doing that pushed the silent alarm with my leg. They told me thanks and left the store.

The police came and a report taken. I was off work for two days. I came back and just before midnight I heard that noise in the back room of the cans being tossed into something. I still was not afraid thinking of what it could be and did not relate it to nothing.

A week later the noise happen again just before midnight. At exactly midnight the five same guys came back into the store. And I already knew what they are going to do, and I am alone but kept my cool. Yes they robbed me again and, again I used the silent alarm for the police and file another report told the police it happens right at midnight.

I then went to the daytime shift after the second time I was robbed. Then this gal that worked with us Crystal (not this gal's real name), was pregnant and in labor. She had to leave work so I went in, to cover the rest of her shift. Got there about 8pm. At just before midnight the cans noise happen again. And I thought "oh no am I going to be robbed again". Sure enough right at midnight in came the same five guys and the Hispanic man always stood in front of me with his hand in his pocket. He never spoke it was always one of the other guys.

The police came, I made out another report. I called my manager told her to come and run the store the rest of the night or I was closing up the store and going home where I would be safe. She told me I had to stay there or be fired. I said fine I am fired. I handed the police officer the keys said "it's got to be locked up before you leave I have been fired".

I tried to find out why that happen, that I heard the noise just before midnight and the robberies were always at midnight while I worked. Never found out anything about the store if anything happen there. But certainly something warned me of what was going to happen.

Two months later those same guys robbed that same store a total of six times. And so the police staked the store out and finally they were caught. They were very polite robbers, as they always told me thanks for helping them. They did that to the others they robbed too.

I seen Crystal after she had her baby, she told me when she was robbed at noon twice, she heard noises in the back room. Not sure if the manager heard anything before the robbers came in or not.