Seattle burglar slips on snowy pavement, drops thousands in cash

SEATTLE -- A masked man broke into a University District movie theater's safe and almost made off with thousands in cash -- until he slipped on snowy pavement while running away.

Seattle Police said officers were called about 4 a.m. Monday to the AMC Seattle 10 theater on 9th Avenue Northeast, where someone had tripped a burglar alarm inside.

Police found a door had been pried open and began searching the theaters in the multiplex.

They found a damaged safe in the building, then spotted a man in a green ski mask darting out of the lobby toward 9th Avenue, police said.

The thief apparently slipped in the snow and ice, dropping thousands of dollars of cash as he fell onto the ground.

Several officers chased him, and he was caught in a parking lot across the street from the theater. Meanwhile, other officers worked to corral the loose cash and coins as they scattered across the wet road.

Officers booked the 46-year-old man into the King County Jail on a burglary charge.