Man trashes 7-Eleven after clerk refuses to sell beer after 2AM

SANTA ANA, Calif. (FOX 11/ CNS) - Santa Ana police have released surveillance video in hopes of tracking down an enraged customer who smashed windows and trashed the front counter of a convenience store after a clerk declined to sell him beer in the middle of the night.

The vandalism occurred around 2:30 a.m. Aug. 25 at a 7-Eleven store at 1020 S. Bristol St.

According to Santa Ana police Cpl. Anthony Bertagna, the man first demanded to use a clerk's phone, but she declined. Then he started ``walking around the store,'' and moments later tried to open the door of a refrigerator with beer inside, Bertagna said.

The door, however, was locked because stores are not allowed to sell liquor after 2 a.m.

"So he goes to the front of the store and demands they sell him beer, and he's got money,'' Bertagna said. The video shows the man flashing cash in front of the clerks.

"They say, `No beer for you, it's against the law,''' Bertagna said.

That prompted the vandal to knock over a display of bananas on the front counter and then, after a stick-wielding clerk chased him out the door, he smashed several of the store's front windows, Bertagna said.

The damage was estimated to be about $2,000, Bertagna said.

Anyone with information on the suspect's identity was asked to call investigators at (714) 245-8647 or email at ldelisle@santa-ana.org. Anonymous tips can be made to Orange County Crime Stoppers at (855) TIP-OCCS.

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