Guns, a knife and wine bottle. Olympia police seek information about 4 violent robberies
Olympia police are on alert after a series of violent robberies occurred this month, including three on the city’s west side, that involved guns, a knife and a wine bottle smashed over a woman’s head.
“We are keeping a close eye on this and all of the crime that has been occurring lately,” Lt. Paul Lower said Tuesday.
He wasn’t ready to say there has been an increase in crime, but he acknowledged the department has “certainly seen a number of violent crimes that keep us on task of monitoring what’s going on.”
He said patrols have been increased in west Olympia as a result.
The robberies that have them on alert are:
▪ Saturday evening Dec. 18: Police were dispatched to the Grocery Outlet on Harrison Avenue after two men stole food and wine from the store. An employee confronted one of the men in the parking lot, who then charged her. As she fell backward, she grabbed onto the man, who then hit her in the head with a wine bottle until it broke. Both men fled in the direction of a nearby bowling alley, but were not found by a Thurston County K9. Olympia fire responded to treat the woman’s injury. The man who allegedly hit the woman was last seen wearing a black face mask, black-hooded sweatshirt, Adidas sweat pants and red Nike shoes.
▪ 11 a.m. Dec. 18: A man was robbed at gunpoint at an Intercity Transit bus stop in the 3200 block of Harrison Avenue Southwest. The man was waiting for the bus when another man, dressed in black and wearing sunglasses, approached and asked if he was selling drugs. When he replied that he wasn’t, the man pulled out a handgun and pointed it at the man’s head. “Don’t do anything stupid,” he reportedly said. He took the man’s backpack and asked him to turn out his pockets before fleeing in the direction of Yauger Park.
▪ 7:30 p.m. Dec. 11: Two men robbed an Olive Garden employee after ordering about $90 in food for pickup outside the west Olympia eatery. The employee brought two bags of food to the two men standing in the parking lot. One man grabbed a bag of food out of his hands, while the second man tried to do the same. The first man ran from the scene, while the second man pulled out a gun. The victim punched him and he ran off. The first man was last seen wearing an orange hat, cowboy boots, white shirt and blue jeans. The second man, armed with the gun, was last seen wearing earrings, a gray sweatshirt, black pants and white tennis shoes.
▪ About 5:15 p.m. Dec. 7: A man was trying a new camera and equipment in the area of Eastside Street and Prospect Avenue Northeast. As he passed by a silver Honda Civic hatchback, a man emerged and threatened him with a knife, taking the camera and equipment. He then got back into the car and drove off. The man is described as 5-foot-8 with bushy eyebrows. He was last seen wearing a dark beanie, face mask and a dark sweater with sleeves pulled up.
Anyone with information is asked to call Olympia police at 360-753-8300.
This story was originally published December 21, 2021 at 10:42 AM.
