VIDEO: Man robs East County CVS store

Manatee County Sheriff's Office detectives are searching for the suspect who robbed an East County CVS Pharmacy Jan. 2.

According to Sheriff's Office reports, at about 9:30 p.m. Jan. 2, the suspect entered the store, 3724 84th Ave. Circle E. He selected a two-liter bottle of soda and approached to pay.

At the counter, he told the clerk to open the cash register and give him all the money. When the clerk answered that he is unable to open the register without a purchase, the suspect reached into his jacket, as if grabbing a weapon, and repeated his order. The clerk complied, and the suspect leaned over the counter and removed the cash. He then fled south toward University Parkway.

CVS' video camera recorded the suspect entering the store, and Sheriff's Office detectives hope it will lead to an arrest.

The suspect is described as a black male, about 5-foot-10, 150 pounds, 30 to 35 years old with a scruffy beard. He was wearing all black with white shoes during the robbery.

Anyone with information regarding this incident is asked by the Sheriff's Office to call 1-866-634-8477.

Watch a surveillance video of the robbery below.

Contact Eddie Kirsch at [email protected].