Help ID wild-eyed robber who sends customers fleeing in fear, fails at breaking jewelry case
WANTED IN SEATTLE --
Take a good look at this wild-eyed armed robber.
He got away with a duffel bag full of cash, but when he got greedy and tried to smash the glass on a jewelry case -- he earned a spot as our front-runner for the biggest fail of the year, so far.
Retired Det. Myrle Carner describes what happened after the robber entered the Cash America store on Aurora Ave. N. on January 25th. "Demands money, has a gun. The clerk opens the till, hands him the cash, some of the cash falls down. Suspect even kind of helped himself to part of it, putting it in his bag and then once he secures the money in the bag, he runs over to the area where there's a glass counter and jewelry below. He takes the gun and attempts to smash the glass, but it won't break, so he gets frustrated and just heads out the front door and leaves the store."
The suspect definitely succeeded at making two customers fear for their lives. In the surveillance video, as soon as he entered the store and starts pulling out his gun, a customer in a brown leather jacket hightails it out the front the door to safety. A second customer in a blue shirt scurries to hide behind some shelving -- even putting his hands up -- then he also escapes out the door once the robber goes towards the cash register. You can see just how freaked out he is as he hustles to his minivan in the parking lot and can't shut the door because he's so flustered. He figures it out just in time -- closing the door just seconds before the robber runs right past the front of the vehicle.
Detectives say the suspect is very dangerous. "He's very nervous. He's hyped-up. He's very well-covered. Pretty good look at his eyes. I think somebody will know who that person is just by the shot of his eyes, but is he dangerous? Oh yeah! This guy looks pretty desperate. He looks to me like he's either hyped-up, maybe needs a drug fix, I don't know, but the fact is he is armed and he is dangerous,” said Ret. Det. Carner.
The robber took his mask off as he ran down a back alley. It’s caught on camera. The video's dark and from far away, but you can make out his face a bit.
Detectives think he's black, in his 20's or 30's, between 5’11 and 6’1”, with an athletic build.
He had that black duffel bag and detectives think that gun he had is a Glock, either a .380 or a 9mm.
If you recognize him from those wild eyes, or know anything about him that can help Seattle Police identify him, download the P3 Tips App to your cell phone for free and submit the information to Crime Stoppers, or call the hot line at 1-800-222-TIPS(8477). It's anonymous and you'll get a cash reward of up to $1,000 if your tip helps lead to his arrest.