Chief asks for help to solve robbery
Nyssa’s Lennie Elfering wants to close case on Wong’s Cafe incident
By William Lundquist
Argus Observer
Thursday, January 17, 2008 1:08 PM PST
Ontario — Only one piece of the puzzle is needed to solve the Nov. 8 robbery of Wong’s Cafe in Nyssa, but Nyssa Police Chief Lennie Elfering said Wednesday he will need the public’s help to find that missing piece.
Several people, including Elfering, believe they know who the robbers are, he said. The two individuals involved in the robbery were even recorded by a video camera as they stood outside the cafe before the crime, but so far no one who has come forward got a good look at their faces, which were hidden under blue bandannas and hooded sweatshirts. So the search goes on for two unidentified Hispanic males.
Elfering said bringing the armed robbers to justice is the one piece of unfinished business from 2007 that he wants to complete this year.
“I know that the two were outside the cafe for a short time getting their courage up to do this cowardly deed,” he said.
Along with evidence from the video camera, a witness drove by the cafe before the gunmen entered. The camera, however, was too far away to clearly show the faces of the two individuals.
Elfering said he has also spoken with a witness who saw the two outside the cafe and suspected they were up to no good, but could not positively identify the men. Elfering said he believes there are still witnesses out there who can make that positive identification and urged them to contact him and help solve the crime.
“I need anyone that has any information on this robbery to step forward and stand up for the Wongs,” he said. “Contact the Nyssa Police Department and give me any information, however small, that will help put the thieves in jail.”
One of the Wongs’ neighbors, Elfering said, saw the two men go down the alleyway behind the cafe and jump a fence, but saw only the backs of their hooded sweatshirts.
“I’ve had people tell me who it is,” Elfering said. “I know who it is, but knowing it and proving it are two different things.”
The criminals, he said, are from Nyssa and may have had contact with the Wongs in the past.
“Our kids are doing this to our people,” he said. “The Wongs are good people that are attempting to make ends meet.”
Elfering said for the Wongs, making those ends meet has proved difficult since the robbery.
Not only did the robbers take cash and checks, he said, but they stole the cash drawer out of the till, which means the entire till must now be replaced.
“It’s hard on you personally,” he said of the Wongs. “They were in great fear for their lives, wondering what was going to happen to them. They told the robbers to take the money and go.”
Elfering said the Wongs did not even initially call the police, believing they would do nothing to help them. He said he is determined that will not be the case, but cannot solve the crime without more help from the community.
