14-year-old found hiding after Palm Desert robbery

A 14-year-old girl, who was found hiding in bushes outside a convenience store early Friday morning, was arrested for allegedly stealing cash and two bottles of wine at knifepoint.

The robbery was reported at 3 a.m. at the Circle K, which is located in the 44000 block of San Pablo Avenue.

The clerk told police a girl came in and brandished two kitchen knives, demanding cash, sheriff’s Sgt. Dan Devinny said.

“After the clerk gave the suspect a small amount of cash, she grabbed two bottles of wine,” he said, and then she ran out of the store toward San Gorgonio Avenue.

Two hours later, someone near Las Palmas Avenue and Royal Palm Drive in Palm Desert called to report a girl hiding in the bushes.

The girl told the person who called police that she was hiding from the officers. The clerk at Circle K identified her as the robbery suspect, Devinny said.

“The (girl) led deputies to some bushes where she hid the empty wine bottles and the two kitchen knives. The stolen cash was located in her pocket,” the sergeant said.
The girl was arrested and booked at Juvenile Hall in Indio on suspicion of armed robbery, Devinny said.

The robbery was the second at a Palm Desert Circle K in two days — on Thursday, a 19-year-old Palm Desert man was arrested while smoking a cigarette and drinking beer he allegedly stole from a Circle K at Country Club Drive and Washington Street, according to the sheriff’s department.