2 La Mesans Arrested in Armed Robbery of 7-Eleven on Baltimore Drive

A 30-year-old man and a 23-year-old female companion were arrested Monday after an early morning robbery of a 7 Eleven in northwest La Mesa, authorities said.

Christopher Demar Ford of La Mesa was booked into County Jail at 5:27 p.m., according to jail records. He is being held on $100,000 bail and faces arraignment at 1:30 p.m. Wednesday in El Cajon Superior Court.

Tajh Marie Rodgers of La Mesa was booked into Las Colinas women’s jail in Santee on $20,000 bail and faces arraignment on an accessory charge at 1:30 p.m. Wednesday in El Cajon.

According to La Mesa police Sgt. Angela DeSarro, a man armed with a handgun entered the convenience store at 5650 Baltimore Dr. about 5 a.m. Monday and demanded the store clerk open the cash register.

“The suspect then told the clerk to remove money from the store’s safe as well,” she said.  “The suspect took an undisclosed amount of money from the register and safe. The suspect ran out of the store.” 

A La Mesa police officer happened to be driving by the store near Lake Park Way as the suspect ran out, she said. 

The officer ordered the man to stop. He briefly halted but then fled on foot.  The officer chased the suspect but lost sight of him a short time later. 

The man dropped his backpack—containing stolen money along with the handgun used in the robbery.  Police searched the area, but the man wasn’t found.

After a lengthy surveillance, La Mesa police detectives were able to identify the robbery suspect and a female companion, who assisted him after the robbery. 

Monday night, Sgt. Ted Fenn confirmed a Patch reader report that the man eventually entered at 5611 Lake Murray Blvd.

The reader said: “At about 6 a.m. [he] asked to use the bathroom and then asked to use the phone.  He had apparently been hiding out in the area. He called his girlfriend to come pick him up, which she did 10 minutes later in a white 4-door … car.  LMPD interviewed the staff at the gym.”

DeSarro said a search warrant was executed at a suspect’s address in the 5700 block of Cowles Mountain Blvd. Both were arrested and booked into jail.

It was the second robbery in six months of this Baltimore Drive 7-Eleven. In late June, with a handgun during a  2:30 a.m. robbery by two armed men, police said.

Anyone with information on this or other cases is asked to call the La Mesa Police Department at 619-667-1400.

You may also call Crime Stoppers’ anonymous toll-free tip line at 888-580-TIPS (or sdcrimestoppers.com). You can remain anonymous, and be eligible for a reward of up to $1,000 for information leading to an arrest in this case.