Robberies at Dalton businesses:* Nov. 12: Taqueria Villa Juarez, 1103 Murray Ave.* Nov. 19: El Mercadito, 101 E. Long St.* Nov. 24: Tacos Tu Go, 807 N. Hamilton St.* Nov. 27: Carnicera Loa, 314 Fernwood Ave.* Nov. 27: Panaderia Chihuahua, 430 Fields Ave.** Jan. 1: Carnicera Loa, 314 Fernwood Ave.* The store was threatened, but the man didn’t steal any money.Source: Dalton Police Department
DALTON, Ga. — Ivan Lara was working behind the store’s counter Saturday when he saw a hooded masked man sprint through the front door, waving a gun.
The masked man wielded the gun at several customers before pointing the gun in Lara’s face and demanding the money in the cash register, a surveillance video shows.
This was the second time that Lara, an employee at Carnicera Loa II on Fernwood Avenue, was working when the Hispanic store in Dalton was robbed.
But when the robber ran out the door with the cash, Lara said he grabbed his pistol from beneath the counter and ran after the man, pinning him to the ground until police arrived.
“I was more angry than afraid,” Lara said. “Because he never thought about no one else’s lives.”
When Dalton police arrived, they arrested 24-year-old Raul Rangel-Alvarez, of 304 N. Spencer St., and charged him in connection with a slew of armed robberies at Hispanic businesses that have taken place since November, said Dalton Police Department spokesman Bruce Frazier.
Rangel-Alvarez was charged with six counts of armed robbery and taken to Whitfield County Jail, Frazier said.
About $7,500 in cash was stolen over the course of the robberies, Frazier has said.
When police arrested him Saturday, Rangel-Alvarez was holding a silver-colored BB gun, Frazier said.
But Lara said the gun looked like a .44-caliber pistol, not a BB gun.
Jose Madrigal, the owner of Carnicera Loa II, said he is relieved the man was caught and he’s very proud of his employee.
“He’s a hero,” Madrigal said, pointing to Lara.
After the business was first robbed on Nov. 27, Lara asked if he could keep his gun at the store in case the robber came back.
When the man returned, Lara said he led him in the direction of his hidden gun, but he didn’t want to shoot inside the store because children were present.
“I just feel a little bit more safe,” Lara said. “He could have easily killed somebody or robbed somewhere else.”
Contact Joy Lukachick at jlukachick@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6659.