Off-Duty Officer Foils Armed Robbery At Rialto Mini-Market

RIALTO (CBS) — An armed robbery suspect who authorities say held up a mini-market in Rialto and subsequently broke into a nearby home to evade capture has been taken into custody.

The hold-up Thursday occurred in the 1600 block of West Merrill.

Police say 28-year-old Carnelle Parks pulled out his handgun during the holdup while Officer Roger Nakamura was nearby.

The officer was having lunch in a back room when the store owner ran over and flagged him down.

CBS2's Jeff Nguyen reported that it was at that point when Nakamura grabbed a gun from a bag nearby and chased the suspect right out the door.

Nakamura, seen in surveillance tape in a white shirt, could be seen on camera running after the suspect who ran down the street and tried to hide in a home.

"I looked outside and there was police right here outside of my window with their guns drawn pointing this way," said Kristin King, a witness.

King, who lives next door, says she was scared because she was home with her young son.

"A police woman actually came in the house and was looking outside my back patio and told me and my son just to go upstairs," King said.

Police say an 18-year-old woman and her 13-year-old brother were in the home when the suspect broke in.

The victims ran into an upstairs bathroom and called police who say they managed to get Parks to surrender peacefully after about half an hour.

Investigators have found the gun allegedly used in the holdup as well as the money taken, Nguyen reported.

"The officer that chased him in the initial foot pursuit was able to positively identify him as the suspect involved in the armed robbery," said Capt. Randy De Anda of the Rialto Police Department.

Nguyen tried to interview officer Nakamura but says he was unavailable as he had to go to work as a tactical flight officer for the police department's helicopter team.