FRESH POND, Calif. — An El Dorado County man remains behind bars after he was arrested late Saturday afternoon following a standoff inside a gas station with the El Dorado County Sheriff’s Office.
Deputies said they were called to the Chevron gas station in Fresh Pond, east of Pollock Pines, around 4:09 p.m. about a man with a shotgun pointing it at people inside the store.
Officials said the gun was loaded, and the man, identified as 69-year-old Robert Brewster, pointed it at a customer before everyone was able to get out safely.
That customer, a Pollock Pines husband and wife, said Brewster pointed the gun at them before running away.
“I froze for about half a second, like I thought this guy was going to kill me,” said Justin Whitton, who was on his way to a Memorial Day weekend camping trip and made a stop at the gas station. “We both just start screaming, everybody get out of the store. There is a gunman in the store, everybody out.”
Justin Whitton and his wife Macee were worried about their three daughters and a friend, who were waiting inside the car at the gas pump, near Highway 50 at Fresh Pond.
As they and others left the store, law enforcement, which was called earlier, arrived.
Justin said he looked right down at the barrel of the gun after he went into the gas station store shopping.
“I see about a 70-year-old man on the ground. He turns and looks back and he is kind of squatted down and he got blood on his face,” said Justin. “I am like, 'Sir, are you alright?' The moment I got the word right out of my mouth, he stands up, pulls the shotgun, pumps it and looks at me dead in the face with his eye down the barrel.”
The Whitton’s said Brewster did not say anything.
“Did not say a word, which was the weirdest (part),” said Justin.
He said the standoff lasted nearly two hours.
“All I could think about was getting my kids to safety. So, it was terrifying,” said Macee. “I am just happy that we are safe. I am happy they did not get shot because his situation.”
The Whitton’s wished the gas station would have warned people about the armed man being inside.
Those with the gas station said it happened quickly, and employees were in a state of shock.
The family is counting their blessings as they try to enjoy the remaining memorial weekend.
“It will be something that sticks with us, but definitely hugged our daughters a lot closer last night than we have,” said Justin.
The suspect remains in custody at the El Dorado County jail in Placerville.
Brewster remains in custody and is facing numerous felony charges including assault and battery and carrying a loaded firearm in public.
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