Cops need help to ID grocery store robber

| 16/08/2022 | 72 Comments
Food 4 Less robber on CCTV footage

(CNS): The RCIPS is making a public appeal to help them identify the robber caught on CCTV during an armed stick-up at the Reflections Food 4 Less shop at the Airport Centre on Maclendon Drive, George Town, in the early hours of Saturday morning, 6 August. The grocery store video shows the armed man, who is wearing a large hat and a bandana over his face, threatening to kill staff after he burst in, aiming a handgun at them and demanding cash.

The CCTV footage of the video was formally released by the RCIPS on Monday evening, some eight days after the robbery.

“Although this footage has been circulated previously in the media, with persons apparently claiming to know who the man in the footage is, no one has come forward to provide this information to the police,” Superintendent Peter Lansdown said. “While media commentary can potentially provide us with intelligence, not having proper witness identification impacts our ability to take the necessary steps to bring the perpetrator to justice. We appeal to members of the public who may know who this person is, to do the right thing and come forward.”

The video was circulated on social media and given to the Cayman Compass by Prentice and Stanley Panton, the owners of the store where the robbery had taken place. In an article about the robbery on Monday, Prentice Panton said that crime was part of the cost of doing business in Cayman. Although the latest crime statistics show that the number of robberies has dropped recently, late-night stores and gas stations are still prime targets for robbers.

“We have spent millions on various security features, systems and upgrades, and still we keep getting robbed,” he said. “At this stage, we would have saved that money if we hadn’t spent it and instead just offer up the petty cash during the incidents. In the end, our internal systems and policies failed, and we ended up helping the robber.”

The Pantons also have a problem with shoplifters, many of whom are repeat offenders. “The system and laws are in place for a reason, and we need to jail these people and make them serve the full sentence before we consider releasing them back into the community,” Stanley Panton said. “There is no point in just releasing someone because they served a portion of prison time.”

Prentice added that staff working in their businesses, including the Liquor 4 Less stores, want to be able to protect themselves by wearing bulletproof vests and having pepper spray, both of which are illegal. However, he told the Compass that his conversations with the police about this have been dismissed.

During this stick-up, the robber pointed a black handgun at the store employee and repeatedly threatened his life while he filled up a bag with cash from the till. It is not clear how much was taken during the heist, which lasted around a minute. While no one was physically hurt during the robbery, the clerk has said he believed that with one wrong move he could have died.

Anyone with information about the robber is asked to contact George Town CID at 949-4222.

See the footage below:


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Category: Crime, Police

Comments (72)

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  1. Al Catraz says:

    “ While media commentary can potentially provide us with intelligence”….. Surely, they are not referring to the comments at CNS. I don’t think there’s a whole lot of intelligence to be had here.

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  2. Anonymous says:

    I can identify him: Jamaican, Jamaican, Jamaican, Jamaican, Jamaican, Jamaican, Jamaican, Jamaican, Jamaican, Jamaican, Jamaican, Jamaican, Jamaican

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    • Gen Z Caymanian says:

      Lmao you’re such an idiot. Can you not hear this guy’s Caymanian accent slipping out when trying to hide his voice by speaking patois? I swear you older generations of Caymanians are so xenophobic fr. Finished country lol.

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  3. Anonymous says:

    He is Jamaican. I wonder when Jamaicans destroy Cayman who is going to feed their kids back in Jamaica?

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    • Anonymous says:

      They will find somewhere new to destroy.

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    • Gen Z Caymanian says:

      Isn’t it the older generations of Caymanians that voted in the incompetent sellout of politicians that brought us in this mess in the first place? People my age and younger are the ones that will face the real damage as time goes on from these older people’s voting decisions.

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  4. Anonymous says:

    Suggestion to small businesses that stay open late or 24hr : after 10 or 11pm accept card payments only and remove cash from the tills at that time.
    No cash means less likelihood of robbery.
    If we, the public, don’t like that then immediately assist RCIPS with their investigations every time this type of incident happens.

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    • Anonymous says:

      Your privilege is shining through. Many of the poorer people CANNOT afford a bank account due to the fees the banking thieves charge and the store owners likely don’t want you charging anything due to the fees the thieving banks charge per transaction.

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    • Anonymous says:

      Also, don’t buzz the robbers in. Setup the buzzer system to take a picture. No face, no entry

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  5. Anonymous says:

    Lots of solutions out there but no will to get it done.

    First idea. Shop owner stops doing cash transactions. Everything becomes card only. So no cash on premises to be stolen. Almost everyone has a debit card nowadays, and those that don’t are probably facilitating crime or turning a blind eye to it.

    Second. For those store owners who have CCTV, get better quality cameras. Stop with the cheapest solution and the lowest quality. And reduce duty on importing security equipment. Buying stuff locally, and using monitored systems, already costs an arm and a leg from ripoff local security companies.

    Third ? Now you lot suggest something and see if we can move forward.

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    • Anonymous says:

      Education. Demonstrate to kids that robbing a store for a few hundred dollars makes you officially stupid. The risk/reward balance is ridiculous, and you can earn more money working even a minimum wage job and not risk spending your days in blue pants and white t shirts, sharing memories with a cell mate.

      It’s got to be a big job to even make any sense, and then you’re left with spending cash for a very long time. Any large purchases arouse suspicion.

      Also, show kids this winner. Do you really want this look? Spouting threats to hard working people, while wearing a hat found on the beach after a ladies brunch went awry.

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    • Anonymous says:

      Small businesses are not thrilled with the 4.8% that the banks immorally charge on debit transactions. Sooner or later the penny will drop and folks will look at the massive class action suit launched against the credit card clearing houses in the states that treated debit and credit transactions the same (as we do here).

      You want me to share the risk with you that someone may not pay their credit card bill? Fine.

      You want me to be a 50% partner with you (I am in a 10% profit margin business) when folks pay by debit card with no risk to you? Not so fine.

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    • Anonymous says:

      You’re assuming “almost everyone” has a card.
      They don’t!
      A LOT of people here have no bank account or card.

  6. Unhapoy Caymanian says:

    I thought RCIPS were responsible for dancing and blousing whistles ion George Town,

    Like directing traffic through green lights to the beat of Michael Jackson ‘s. “Black and white”

    No wonder that crime is too difficult

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  7. Anonymous says:

    All of those commenting on social media that they know who this is should be arrested for being complicit in the crime. If they won’t say who then they are harboring a criminal and are themselves criminals and should be prosecuted for the crime as if they are part of the gang.

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  8. Anonymous says:

    Why would I want to help lazy incompetent cops that can’t do the the basics of their profession?
    And you will never be forgiven for closing beaches during lockdown.

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    • Anonymous says:

      And the cops can’t even indicate at roundabouts. Ridiculous.. the cayman cops break more laws than their citizens, then charge the expats to pay their wages by stopping the only car doing 50 in a 40 on an empty Sunday morning road. It’s so corrupt. This island is run by fake caymanians. Time to let expats and the uk control the government.

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    • Anonymous says:

      Cause you might be the next person at the end of this man’s gun. Don’t think it can’t happen to you. You may not think the same if that happens…

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  9. Anonymous says:

    Until the police and justice system can guarantee the safety and protection of those who want to turn in these scumbags, silence will prevail.

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  10. Anonymous says:

    this is what you get when you import poverty to your country. The business class love for cheap labor will be the destruction of these Islands.

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  11. Anonymous says:

    Maybe some cameras should be placed lower on the desk in all businesses to get better close ups..

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  12. Anonymous says:

    for future reference…can you buy liqour at this place after midnight??

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  13. Anonymous says:

    Spent millions on what a camera that no employee looks at before buzzing in mask individuals with Sunday service hats fire the woman that was on her phone buzzing in robbers ask her she probably knows who it is she obviously let him in easy enough

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    • Anonymous says:

      Please type legibly. You may actually have a good comment.

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      • Anonymous says:

        If you think typing legibly is going to help Crises like inflation crime and cost of living around us and the world then type your legibly self away my friend see if that helps(full stop) lmao

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  14. Anonymous says:

    The judges need to stiffen up the penalties. Prison officials need to turn HMS Northward into a prison instead of a country club and run it like the military so these people can learn discipline. AC and use of electronics only for well behaved prisoners. Rice and beans meals. Sheriff Joe from Arizona would be a great example.

    CNS: Former Sheriff Joe Arpaio has cost Arizona taxpayers $100M.

    See also Harvard Political Review – Recidivism Imprisons American Progress
    “When prisoners are released in Norway, they stay out of prison. Norway has one of the lowest recidivism rates in the world at 20%. The U.S. has one of the highest: 76.6% of prisoners are rearrested within five years. Among Norway’s prison population that was unemployed prior to their arrests, they saw a 40% increase in their employment rates once released. The country attributes this to its mission of rehabilitation and reemergence into society through its accepting and empathetic approach.”

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    • Anonymous says:

      well said cns

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    • Anonymous says:

      Judge Arpaio was an embarrassing failure for moral legal justice in his state. Please do not aspire to the lowest of ethics, CIG has enough of that already.

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    • Anonymous says:

      Norway has programs and modern society. Education and proper family structure also. Totally different and not comparable. Norway is ranked in the top 10 of education. Cayman does not even make the list. It needs a good prison system here, until things turn around. But with the lack of help in the education system and the segregation that exists. It will be a long long time before changes happen.

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  15. Anonymous says:

    We need help the police as someone knows who it. Next time it can be someone in your family/friend may get killed because no one won’t pass information. The police need remove guns off the street.

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  16. Anonymous says:

    Now maybe it is time for merchants to invest in bullet proof glass cages with drawers.

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  17. Anonymous says:

    Welcome to Little Jamaica.

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    • Anonymous says:

      Thanks Mac Saunders and Bryan.

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    • Anonymous says:

      It’s actually a sequel. Jamaica – the day after. We know the plot. The end is economic and social devastation. The unlikely characters in the first episode, and again in today’s sequel, are Canadians who are confident they are doing the right thing but are in fact enablers. At this stage I am hoping for a plot twist. God Save the Queen (and the Caymanian People).

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      • Anonymous says:

        Don’t blame the Canadians. Can’t even get work permits for people if you don’t have a 60/40. So look close at that mirror. Real close.

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  18. Anonymous says:

    At this rate we might as well defund the police, leverage as much technology as possible in lieu of a ineffective police force and/or pay the community to do their job. I’m all for community policing, you know, cause I live here and want to feel safe but seriously what exactly does rcips do? And why is it they there subpar performance is accepted as the best we can do?

    I hope they catch this guy but beyond that I’m more interested in what the POLICE ARE GOING TO DO, to restore the community confidence they have lost. Leave the racist xenophobic responses out of it, I’m talking about a real strategy.

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    • Anonymous says:

      We all need to have guns and then can handle some of this on our own as the police are too busy catching speeders and drunks! Guess the Governor will have a statement soon to reassure us all.

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      • Anonymous says:

        Yea right… Allow and sanction more guns! What a completely absurd thought. And this is why the Caymanian electorate cannot rise above the scum they elect, over and over and over.

        Elect clowns, expect a circus to come to town. Elect corrupt ministers, expect corruption to run rampant. Elect uneducated ministers, expect no effort to improve education. Elect drunk women-beaters who evade true justice, expect more of the same.

        I cry for the 2% (5%, 10%) of Cayman that sees what is the truth, but cannot overcome the 80%, 90%, 95% of the vastly under-educated, mis-informed, morally corrupt neighbors that live to their right and left.

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      • Anonymous says:

        Oh do grow up. We are a uk overseas territory, not a gun death pandemic United States territory. The USA has proven citizens with guns creates more mass shootings. Follow the uk lead and not the reidicilous USA.

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        • Anonymous says:

          This American agrees.

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          • Anonymous says:

            Guns don’t kill people do. Anyone can kill the same with a machete or knife or acid…just look to the Uk for proof.

            • Anonymous says:

              Ok……so how many “mass” knife or machete attacks have you heard of that kill numerous people (and sadly, many children) all at once?

              The entire world shakes their head at the absurdity of the American gun culture, who won’t even pass a law banning automatic rifles when the vast majority of the population support doing so! Absolutely mind boggling.

      • Anonymous says:

        He will grin. And the Commissioner will tell us the crime situation is stable. Franz will say our governance is world class and Eric will toast and raise his glass (filled by various benefactors).

        It is a shitshow of our own government’s making.

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      • Anonymous says:

        They are not doing a great job catching speeders and drunks.

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    • Anonymous says:

      The answer to what are the police going to do about it – not a dam thing except some talk!

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  19. Anonymous says:

    Do they have a silent alarm button??

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  20. Anonymous says:

    police-cops grasping at straws….
    he is in full disguise….you will never get enough evidence to convict.

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    • Anonymous says:

      I’m sure everyone knows who this is, but no one will tell and so crime goes on. Very sad culture it has created.

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      • Anonymous says:

        Not sure everyone knows. I don’t. Watched footage and listened to audio. Can’t identify. Don’t stereotype.

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        • Anonymous says:

          Can safely say the police and some in the local community know exactly who this is. Its not what you know, it’s what you can proof though.

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  21. Orrie Merren says:

    What a lowlife.

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  22. Anonymous says:

    I want to know how he got his hands on my wife’s hat.

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  23. Anonymous says:

    Why RCIP? So you can let them go? Like you did when they were previously caught for shoplifting, and when they took that nice bike from outside the bar?

    You do not enforce the laws and this is what we are coming to.

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