An unidentified man tried to rob a barista through a drive-through window on Monday in Auburn, Washington. Police detained a suspect a day after the camera footage was made public. The suspect’s identity has not been made public by Auburn police, and no charges have been filed. The guy can be seen grasping the barista’s wrist in the nine-second video as they give him the cash change for his purchase. The guy grabbed the victim by the left shoulder and pulled him away while holding a “looped zip tie gadget” with his right hand. Using the tie, he seemed to be attempting to “pull the victim through the window,” according to tweets from the police.
UPDATE: After overwhelming support from the community, APD has arrested a suspect in this case. https://t.co/OG4z7a5m0T
— Auburn WA Police Dept (@AuburnWAPolice) January 17, 2023
However, the barista decided against it and began making quick attempts to seize their arm back, dumping the change on the sidewalk. The drive-thru window was immediately closed once the barista had their arm released. The man paused briefly before settling back in his chair. Finally, he starts to drive away but stops to appear to grab something close to the window before accelerating away without it. The individual looks to be Caucasian with a stocky physique and a low beard on the security footage. The word Chevrolet is inked on the man’s left forearm, according to the police. The suspect, ironically, was also operating a Chevrolet Silverado.
The suspect seen here attempted to drag the victim through the window using a looped ziptie device. The victim was able to fight off the attacker.
The suspect has a unique tattoo on his left forearm that appears to read “Chevrolet”. pic.twitter.com/1AnPHVl339
— Auburn WA Police Dept (@AuburnWAPolice) January 17, 2023
According to the timestamp on the video, the event happened about 5:06 a.m. local time. According to KIRO7-TV, police detained their suspect on January 17 at his Auburn residence. According to Kolby Crossley, a department spokesman, detectives were able to link the suspect to the crime scene after quickly searching his pickup vehicle and finding evidence. On Tuesday at around 11:15 a.m., police tweeted about the arrest. According to reports, the barista was alone herself when the attempted kidnapping occurred. Crossley said:
“They are in vulnerable positions because they’re usually controlling those spots by themselves at early hours in the morning when it’s dark outside. But this barista did an awesome job of protecting herself and fighting this person off.”
After being questioned and jailed, the suspect could be charged with attempted kidnapping, according to KIRO7-TV. Police are also looking into whether this was a singular event or indicative of the suspect’s pattern of behavior. This story is still unfolding. – Steve Sijenyi
