Trial Begins for Suspected Chipotle Robbers

The trial is expected to begin today for the five people accused of robbing Chipotle in June 2012.

The charges include aggravated robbery, a first-degree felony, as well as obstructing justice, a fifth-degree felony.

Police believe it was an inside job.

The store’s manager Leisha Campbell, 22, of Cleveland — who told police that she was held up at gunpoint by two masked men — was part of the plan to rob the restaurant, according to court documents.

After an investigation, detectives learned that Campbell helped to plan and execute the robbery along with co-defendants Kenneth Cook, Jessica Zimmerman, Randall Zimmerman and Shawn Zimmerman, according to the Cuyahoga County Prosecutor’s Office.

Campbell originally told police that she was walking to her car around midnight when she was confronted by two masked men who “forced her back into the store” and ordered her to empty the safe, police chief Timothy Malley said last year. 

A nearby resident saw the two men — wearing black with masks on their faces — dash toward Victoria Avenue, according to the police report.

The suspects fled south and escaped capture. However, a BB gun was recovered near Grant Elementary School.