LOCAL : Simi Man Accused of Faked Stickup

A man suspected of faking an armed robbery of a Simi Valley gas station where he worked was arrested early today, police said.

Michael White, 20, of Simi Valley told police that two men armed with handguns took the station’s cash and his personal jewelry, covering up the station’s surveillance cameras in the process, Lt. Neal Rein said.

When police reviewed the videotape, Rein said, it showed White covering one of the cameras.

“He was smart enough to know to cover them, but he wasn’t smart enough to know to cover them while he was covering them,” Rein said.

Police found $670 in cash and White’s personal jewelry in his car parked at the Mobil station at 1st Street and Los Angeles Avenue, Rein said. White was arrested on suspicion of embezzlement and filing a false police report.