BRIEFLY IN THE NEWS

-- Mathis Winkler

Some gunmen still seem to know their manners.

The man who robbed Images Hallmark on Irvine Avenue just before 7 p.m.

Wednesday put a small, silver-colored semiautomatic pistol on the

counter, concealed it with his hand, and seemed nervous when he ordered

two store clerks to open the cash register, police said.

As he left the store after putting about $250 into a plastic bag, the

man seemed to feel an obligation to soften the blow.

“Have a nice night,” he said to the store’s employees and a customer,

who had observed the scene, said Lt. Doug Fletcher of the Newport Beach

Police Department. A second customer remained unaware of the robbery.

Witnesses described the man as a white, heavy built man with a reddish

complexion and brown hair in his late 30s or early 40s, standing about 5

feet, 11 inches tall, Fletcher said.

The robber wore dark pants, a blue sweatshirt, black gloves,

yellow-tinted glasses and a blue baseball cap with the initials “S.D.,”

he added. The man apparently left the store on foot.

Detectives are still investigating the incident.

Store officials declined to comment.

Anyone with information about the crime is asked to call the Police

Department at (800) 550-NBPD (6273).