Mar 29, 2007

Man caught on tape trying to steal surveillance camera

By Kristina Peterson / Daily News Staff Writer

Would you like some jail time with that?

On Tuesday, Palo Alto police officers arrested a McDonald's employee caught red-handed on film trying to steal a surveillance camera.

Amilcar Gomez, 29, of Redwood City, was booked on charges of attempted theft from the McDonald's at 3128 El Camino Real, where he had worked as a cashier.

Police Sgt. Sandra Brown said Gomez confessed to the crime right away when he was brought into the police station.

"He knew why we had brought him in," Brown said.

McDonald's employees called police 9:03 a.m. Tuesday after delivery men unloading a truck noticed something wrong with the surveillance camera. After watching the night's security film, the manager observed Gomez's botched theft attempt.

Brown said Gomez had attempted to steal the camera Monday night, but gave up. She said Gomez apparently had intended to resell the surveillance camera.

McDonald's shift manager Norma Valencia said Gomez had been a cashier at the restaurant for about a month.

"He's a very good worker. He's never been late," Valencia said. "We were kind of shocked."

She said Gomez had told two employees the day before the theft he would not return to work soon.

"Apparently he already figured out he wasn't going to come back," Valencia said.

Brown said the attempted theft was not related to last week's armed robbery at the same McDonald's. The camera Gomez tried to steal did not film that robbery, she added.


E-mail Kristina Peterson at kpeterson@dailynewsgroup.com.