‘Thelma And Louise’ Hold Up String Of Stores

Merchants here have been rattled by a string of attacks attributed to a pair of unlikely female bandits police have dubbed “Thelma and Louise.”

“Women, when they come in, you never think they’ll rob you - that’s what they take advantage of,” said one clerk who was robbed. “They’re taking advantage of their femininity.”

Well-dressed, well-groomed and well-spoken, the women are hitting Oakland and Berkeley mom-and-pop stores hard and fast, shattering stereotypes and prompting police to issue a public warning.

In the last two weeks, at least six holdups have been committed by the bandits, who sometimes act as a team and other times alone. Their take has ranged from less than $100 to several hundred dollars, police said.

“It’s hard to say if they have been inspired by the movie (“Thelma and Louise”), but there are some similarities,” Oakland Sgt. Ed Hollomon said Wednesday.

In the 1991 movie, two troubled women - played by Geena Davis and Susan Sarandon - embark on a violent crime spree.

“If they’re not arrested soon, they’re going to get killed,” another victimized shopkeeper said. The shopkeeper added that many clerks had guns behind the cash register and were willing to use them.

The latest holdups attributed to the pair occurred Monday when two stores were robbed. A woman walked in a market about 7:25 p.m., pulled a gun and calmly demanded money. Fifteen minutes later, the same woman hit another market.

A clerk told police the bandit had been smiling when she’d come in and asked for some matches, but then robbed the clerk and a customer.

Last Friday, a gas station was robbed. On Jan. 7, it was a liquor store in Oakland.

On Jan. 5, a fast food eatery in Oakland was hit. One employee told police the woman holding the gun “was very aggressive, and the other one just had a little smile.”

Clerks described the women as cool, calm and collected.

“She was a professional; she was very calm and polite,” a clerk said. “She just pointed the gun … and said, ‘Do you want to die?”’

The women are described as white and in their mid-20s to mid-30s.