Crime Law

Man dressed as construction worker holds Olympia clerk at gunpoint

OLYMPIA, Washington — A clerk at an Olympia Gold store told KIRO 7 he thought he was going to be killed when a man dressed like a construction worker pointed a gun at him.

The victim, who asked to not be identified, said the robber came in and said he was there to do some work.

“He came in dressed up like a city worker,” the clerk said. “Asks me if I can move my vehicle ‘cause he wants to paint lines on the ground out there.”

The man who entered also wore a respirator to further conceal his identity.

When the clerk got up to move his car, the man pulled a gun out of his work bucket and ordered the clerk into another room, where he tied him up.

“Pointed it right at my face, pretty much at my head,” the clerk said, in reference to the gun. “I thought he was going to kill me.”

The robber then came back out of the office and tried to get in the money drawer. It was locked, so the robber got the keys from the clerk and left with a money bag in his bucket.

The clerk said he was able to get his phone out of his pocket while he was still tied up and dialed 911.

Detectives said they’ll analyze potential evidence collected at the store.

The clerk said he hopes the robber is captured soon.

“I’m more shaken up than angry, but I mean, it sucks when you can’t even come to work without having to worry about a gun being pointed at your head,” he said.

The robber got into an older Ford Econoline van that was driven by another man.

Anyone with information about the case is asked to call the Olympia Police Department.