Suspected drive-thru robber gets fast service — to jail

The order by a man who walked up to a drive-thru was illegal Sunday morning, but the service was fast, thanks to Fort Worth police officers.

A 19-year-old man was arrested after police say he robbed McDonald’s on North Main Street through a drive-thru window.

Police also believe he is the same suspect who just minutes before attempted a similar heist at a Whataburger a few blocks away.

Police identified the suspect as Juan Escamilla of Fort Worth.

The drive-thru holdups began just after 4 a.m. at the Whataburger at 109 NE 28th St.

According to a police report, a man walked up to the Whataburger drive-thru and talked about robbing the business.

But he fled the scene on foot.

At 5:24 a.m., police responded to a robbery call at the McDonald’s at 2832 N. Main St.

A man dressed in all black with a bandana covering the lower half of his face walked up to the drive-thru and told the employee to give him all the money in the cash register, police said.

“The employee looked down at the suspect and was able to see a bag that was in the shape of a firearm,” officer Jimmy Pollozani, a police spokesman, said in an email.

The suspect fled after the holdup.

Minutes later, a K9 officer who responded to the holdup call observed a man who matched the description of the robber in a parking lot near the McDonald’s. The man was stopped and later arrested.

Escamilla was in the Fort Worth Jail on Sunday facing robbery charges.

This story was originally published May 28, 2017 at 11:41 AM with the headline "Suspected drive-thru robber gets fast service — to jail."