Contra Costa Co. Fair workers robbed of nearly $90K going to the bank overnight

ANTIOCH, Calif. (KGO) -- A nearly $90,000 heist happened in Antioch, California, and it involved money that you may have spent at the Contra Costa County Fair.

Police say the two victims, who worked at the fair, were robbed at gunpoint when they went to deposit the money at the bank after 2 a.m. Monday.

The Contra Costa County Fair ended late Sunday night, but it's what happened in the overnight hours after the fair that is raising eyebrows.

The robbery happened at a BMO bank 1.5 miles down the road on Somersville Road in Antioch.

MORE: Minors now need a chaperone to attend Contra Costa County Fair

More security and stricter rules are now in place at the Contra Costa County Fair in an effort to improve safety after there were several fights among teenagers last year.

"Two of our employees were taking a large cash deposit to a bank not too far away and were robbed at the bank, not on the fairgrounds," said Craig Cannon who is president of the Contra Costa County Fair Board of Directors.

Cannon was not the one making the day-to-day operations calls at the fair and is now demanding answers.

He says nearly $90,000 of fair money was stolen outside the bank, which is located in a strip mall where stores are boarded up and unhoused individuals are living in the parking lot.

"Things were not handled the way they were supposed to be and we're going to work at fixing that," said Cannon. "You never send an unarmed citizen to the bank in the wee hours of the day when the bank is not even opened and expect to just make a deposit."

Police have yet to release any surveillance video.

Some community members were angered when ABC7 News told them Wednesday night what happened.

MORE: Fights lead to early closure of 2023 Contra Costa Co. Fair

Contra Costa County Fair officials closed the grounds early Saturday due to a series of fights among teenagers.

"That's bad, that's really bad," said Veronica Pace who was visiting Antioch from Walnut Creek.

Cannon says the loss of this amount of money could impact the fair's music headliners and animal attractions in the years to come. He says the fair went very well this year without any problems until this happened off property and in a community that has been hit hard by crime.

"Everybody is free game with these criminals right now and it's everywhere Antioch of course with the limited police department out there, they have their hands full," said Cannon.

Police have not given any description of the suspects. They also haven't given any information that would hint if this thief knew that money was going to the bank at that time or if this was a random robbery.