Police Seek Bike Riding Armed Robber who Held Up Caffe Bene

Santa Cruz Police are looking for a robbery suspect who entered at the Caffe Bene at 1101 Cedar St. Friday evening with a note demanding money and stating he had a gun.

Officers responded to a report of an armed robbery around 5:25 p.m. The suspect had entered the business and approached an employee with a demand note for money. The note also said he had a gun, police said.      

The employee gave the man money and he then fled on a bicycle. Arriving officers, along with a K-9 dog named Layko, searched for the suspect but could not find him.      

The suspect is described as a black 28-year-old man standing about 6 feet 2 inches tall with a thin build. He was seen wearing a blue-and-white hooded sweatshirt and a blue-and-white beanie. He had on a black backpack and rode off on a BMX-style bicycle, police said.

No one was injured during the robbery, according to police.      

Anyone with information about the armed robbery is encouraged to call Santa Cruz police at 831-420-5820 or an anonymous tip line at 831-420-5995.

While the police department didn't release the business that was robbed, the Santa Cruz Sentinel had it and spoke to owner Ken Bothelo who said it was the first time the shop had been robbed in his 23 years there.

Police spokesman Zach Friend said that the department doesn't release names of businesses to protect the victims working there.