Court docs: Woman pulled gun on employee for being asked to wear mask
BELLEVUE, Wash. - A woman faces a felony harassment charge for pulling a gun on a gas station clerk after being asked to put on a face mask.
According to charging documents from the prosecutor’s office, 33-year-old Angela Marie Nommensen went into a Bellevue AM/PM gas station on Jan. 27, asking for a gas receipt for her company car. Shortly after, she called 911 and told them an employee pushed her out for not complying with their mask rule.
Nommensen said she could not wear a mask due to medical reasons, but did not specify what they were to police.
When officers arrived, the clerk told them she walked in without a mask, and refused to put it on after he asked her several times. She kept asking for a receipt, and the clerk kept asking her to put on her mask. Finally, the clerk ‘physically escorted’ her out of the building, then walked back inside.
Court documents describe surveillance video, released later, that showed Nommensen hitting the clerk several times, then pulling out a gun and holding it up, yelling obscenities at him.
Officers confirmed Nommensen had a gun, as well as a valid concealed carry permit from the Pierce County Sheriff’s Office, which they seized as evidence.
Police say employees can remove customers, within reason, from their private business using physical force. Nommensen shared video she recorded of the incident with responding officers, who determined the employee used that force as a last resort.
Nommensen was arrested for first-degree assault, but given the reasonable threat to the clerk's life, the prosecutor’s office is pursuing charges of felony harassment.
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