Clerk robbed by masked man surprised to learn suspect was someone she knew

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    GLENDALE, Ariz. (KPHO/KTVK) — A Glendale gas station clerk says she had no idea the masked man who robbed her was someone she considered a friend. Christina Reynolds says the suspect needs to “find the Lord.”

Glendale Police say Jermarion Imasuku kidnapped and sexually assaulted an 18-yesar-old woman before robbing three businesses during a 48-hour crime spree.

Reynolds works at one of those businesses. She was working at the gas station near 51st Avenue and Olive the night after Halloween when, she says, a man wearing a “Jason” hockey mask walked in and demanded money. “Give me all the money and I’m serious,” Reynolds recalls the man saying. “I felt really threatened.”

She says the suspect was wearing a hoodie and had a gun at his side. Reynolds opened up the register and says the man grabbed some cash and took off.

Days later, Reynolds says, investigators showed he a picture of the man behind the mask. “I recognized him straight away,” says Reynolds. She describes Imasuku as a regular customer who she had befriended.

Reynolds says she had even called him the night of the robbery. “I was like, hey, I just got robbed and I’m closing the store down. Can you please come pick me up? My aunt’s not answering the phone,” says Reynolds. “He said no, that he couldn’t pick me up, that he was in Sun City.”

Reynolds says she never thought Imasuku could be capable of committing violent crimes. She says he needs to change his ways. “Find the Lord,” says Reynolds. “You need to do a whole lot of soul searching for what it is that your purpose is supposed to be in life.”

Imasuku has been booked on multiple charges including armed robbery, aggravated assault and violent sexual assault.

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