Golden Spoon Frozen Yogurt Shop Robbed for Second Time Since March

The Golden Spoon Frozen Yogurt shop was robbed late Monday for the second time in eight months—with one employee again suffering through another fright night.

Police Lt. Matt Nichoalss said two young women, 18-21, had already locked the shop at 5640 Lake Murray Blvd., north of Baltimore Drive, when a man knocked on the door.  He waved a silver handgun and was let in.

He zip-tied the hands of one worker behind her back and had the other employee open the safe and cash register, where an unknown amount of money was taken.

The robber told the women, now both tied up, to “wait 50 seconds and do what you have to do,” Nicholass said.

One called police at 9:46 p.m., and within a minute La Mesa officers were on the scene, Nicholass said. A San Diego police helicopter was called in to help the search, but the gunmen wasn’t immediately found.

Three other store employees rushed to the store to give support to their co-workers and help with cleanup.

Nicholass said the gunman was described as a black man, age 30-40, wearing a dark jacket, a dark scarf over his face and brown construction-type boots.

“He may have a deformity to one of his eyes,” he said.

On March 6—a Sunday—the same shop was robbed, but the gunman that night was described as 18-20 years old.

Monday night’s robbery was the third of the day in La Mesa—following the taking of a laptop computer from a young man, perhaps 18, near Chloe Avenue and Buckland Street about 2:20 p.m. Some five hours later, a La Mesa man in his late 20s or early 30s was robbed of a cell phone near the 70th Street trolley station in west La Mesa, Nicholass said.

That robbery—where fresh tracks were spotted—brought out a K-9 Unit and a sheriff’s helicopter. But no suspect was found despite what Nicholass called an extensive search of the area.

“A black male suspect approached the victim on the trolley platform and asked for his money,” Nicholass said. “When the victim refused, the suspect pulled out a black handgun and took the victim’s cell phone. The suspect fled the area on foot eastbound along the trolley tracks. The suspect is still outstanding. The victim was not injured.”

The suspect in the trolley robbery at 7255 Alvarado Road was described as a black male adult, 21-25 years old with no facial hair, dark hair and dark eyes. The suspect was wearing a black long-sleeved hoodie with a white logo and black sweat pants.  

Harold Jackson, 47, was walking his Jack Russell terrier Jules about 10:15 p.m. Monday when he came across the scene at the Golden Spoon, where three TV  crews awaited a briefing.

“I was walking my dog earlier [Monday] and said [to myself]: That place got robbed earlier,” said Jackson, who lives nearby on Baltimore Drive. “I heard that guy tied up [employees] and put them in the back.”

Does Jackson fear for his own safety?

“Nah,” he said. “I don’t worry about this area much. It’s just the sort of area [robbers] hit.”