Help ID patient gas station-robbing, timed money safe-targeting perp
WANTED IN SEATTLE --
Seattle Police are hoping you can identify the suspect in a terrifying takeover-style robbery at the Safeway gas station mini-mart on Rainier Ave. S. as employees were getting ready to open on August 30th.
“Suspect in this case enters through the front door and you`ll watch him go into the store and he goes around to the end of the store and he actually kind of hides behind the shelves,” said Ret. Det. Myrle Carner with Crime Stoppers of Puget Sound. “The clerk on duty at this time is in the back room. He comes out and then he`s confronted by the suspect. You`ll look at this suspect. He`s pretty well-covered-up, but what`s unusual is that he has socks over his shoes, never seen that before. But, then he takes the clerk, puts him in the back room, lays him down on the floor and you`ll actually see him put an object to his head which the victim said, he didn`t see a gun but it felt like a gun barrel.”
Detectives say the suspect demanded the combination to the safe in the front of the store. The clerk told him the timer would take 5 minutes to open, but that didn`t bother this crook. As he patiently waited, a second employee arrived. “He takes her, puts her down on the ground, then he picks her up and actually puts her further into the office. At this time, the 5 minutes has expired. He goes out. He opens up the safe and he removes a large amount of cash and then he just takes off,” said Carner.
The suspect is described as black, 5’10”, wearing socks over his shoes, a dark Balaclava-style mask, wearing a dark-colored Letterman-style jacket with leather sleeves and trim on the cuffs, a red t-shirt and dark-colored sweatpants that were dirty and torn.
“From my viewpoint, this is not his first robbery,” adds Carner. “He goes to great lengths, if you watch the video, he never looks up at the camera, which he knows there`s a camera. Wearing the socks over his shoes is another thing, he`s completely covered. But, the reality is, somebody knows someone who runs around in that jacket, has that hoodie and maybe he wears his shoes covered all the time, you never know, but this guy`s armed, he`s dangerous and he`s probably going to do it again."
If you recognize him, or know how to get him caught, use the P3 Tips App on your smart phone to submit the information to Crime Stoppers, or call the hot line at 1-800-222-TIPS. It's anonymous and you'll get a cash reward of up to $1,000 if your tip helps lead to his arrest.