The Connection

“Sir I’m robbed,” is the text message that Sanjeev “Bobby” Kapoor got from his cashier Rakesh M. Wednesday night at 8:30 just before closing time at Reston Mobil gas station on N. Shore Drive at Lake Anne. Kapoor was sitting in his car in the parking lot during the robbery, completely unaware.

The robbery only took seconds and was recorded on surveillance video. A masked African American man in a black sweatshirt put a can of chips down on the counter and pointed a pistol at the chest of the cashier. The cashier managed to unlock the drawer and hand the contents to the masked robber who fled the store with $750.

Police arrived on the scene within two minutes of the call about Wednesday night’s robbery.

They are still searching for a suspect.

Sean Lotf, a mechanic and employee at Reston Mobil coached the cashier Rakesh a few months earlier about how to react to a potential robbery situation.

“I told him to say ‘The money is yours. Take it’,” said Lotf. And that’s exactly what Rakesh did.

Other Lake Anne businesses have been robbed over the past few weeks, including the Lake Anne Brew Shop. However, this is the first time that Kapoor has experienced armed robbery.

Reston Mobil has endured robberies, vandalism, and even a fire that burned the station to the ground entirely over the 16 years that Kapoor has worked there. The gas station is owned by Kapoor’s wife, Nitta Kapoor.

Two years earlier, someone broke into Kapoor’s store and stole a U-Haul van, lottery tickets and cigarettes.

“We have the lights on overnight, and it’s an extra expense,” said Kapoor.

In addition to overnight break-ins the gas station also attracts people who beg for money from across the street at the bus stop during the day.

On June 23 this year, a man toting a knife approached Kapoor’s employees and threatened them. Kapoor called the police and they responded, arresting the man. But the trouble came in the six court appearances that Kapoor and his employees had to attend. The man was released without any charges and they were left with just bad memories.

“What happened last night was good, with the knife guy we went to court and it felt like we were the criminals!” said Frank Lora, 49, who has worked at Reston Mobil as a mechanic for the last three years.

Lake Anne Brew House was also robbed two weeks ago. It was a smash and grab job according to Jason Romano who co-owns the store with his wife Melissa.

“For us, I think it was somebody looking for an opportunity and we’ve changed so that an easy grab and go won’t happen again,” said Romano.

But Romano and Kapoor’s employees couldn’t help but put themselves in the shoes of Rakesh who was robbed at gunpoint just the day before.

“He did the right thing, I hope he comes back but he’ll be shaken up for a while,” said Romano.

“We called him this morning to see if he wanted to work and his roommate answered the phone. He said he’s not feeling good,” said Lotf.

Officers, K9 units, and a police helicopter were dispatched to search for the suspect Wednesday night according to police. The investigation is being led by Fairfax County’s Major Crimes Bureau.