Victim to men who robbed him: ‘I want to bless you’

Giovanni Gomez went from being scared to feeling sorry for the men who forced him to empty his bank account at gunpoint and stole his car at a Boynton Beach ATM.

By the end of the ordeal, the restaurant server and evangelist could only watch as the armed robbers drove off with his car, cash, iPhone, and about $3,000 worth of audio equipment.

Gomez told Sun Sentinel newspartnerWPEC-CBS12 that he uses the amplifiers, mixers and other sound equipment for an outdoor service called Church in the Wild that’s held monthly on Clematis Street, West Palm Beach.

Instead of fighting, Gomez said he offered the men his belongings. He said he told them: “I just want you to know I want to give this to you. Because I don’t know what you’re going through but I want to give this to you and I want to bless you right now.”

Gomez, 26, from Lake Worth, told police the robbery and carjacking happened at about 11:30 p.m. Monday at the drive-thru ATM at the Chase Bank branch at 555 N. Congress Ave.

After he deposited his restaurant paycheck, two men, one armed with a gun, walked up to his silver 2012 Honda Civic.

“He said ‘I’m comin’ in and you’re gonna give us all your money,’ ” Gomez said.

Getting into the backseat while his accomplice sat in the front passenger’s seat, the armed man pointed his gun at Gomez’s head and demanded he withdraw money from the ATM, police said.

“At first I was scared because ... he had the gun pointed right atmy face and he looked angry and he looked like he was ready to pull the trigger,” Gomez said.

He was then ordered out of his car and forced to hand over his wallet and iPhone. While the gunman climbed into the driver’s seat, the second man got into a gold Nissan Altima in the parking lot and both cars drove away.

“You just realize how fragile life is and how it can be gone in a moment, and you know all the stuff we have, it’s cool but it’s just stuff,” Gomez said.

Gomez walked back to whereheworkedand called 911.

The gunman is described as clean-shaven with gold teeth. He was wearing a black beanie cap, gray Tshirt and black shorts. The second man could be in his late teens, police said.

WPEC-CBS12 reporterAl Pefley contributed to this report.