TACOMA, Wash. — Quick Facts:
- Robbery happened Thursday night at Terra Healing Center in Tacoma
- Men in video didn't cover faces
- Clerk punched, thrown to ground
- Owner says lack of banking system for pot stores means cash in tills
A violent takedown and robbery at a Tacoma pot shop was caught on camera.
The owner shared the surveillance video with KIRO 7.
The owner of the Terra Healing Center on Pacific Avenue South, Justin Tyree, said he feels like the shop was targeted.
Tyree said he believes that robbers are under the impression that because the business sells marijuana, it has a lot cash in its till.
Rob Munoz is reporting on this story live during KIRO 7's 6 a.m. newscast. WATCH LIVE
It was the clerk’s first night on the job when the robbery occurred Thursday night.
The video shows two men, who didn’t bother to cover their faces, struggling with the clerk, first punching him, and then throwing him to the floor.
They then got into the till, stole $550, a phone and the keys to the shop.
The owner said he feels sorry for the employee, who was covering someone else's shift.
“They taped him up, punched him the face, they gagged him, stuffed a plastic bag inside his mouth and taped his mouth,” said Tyree.
The employee did not have to go to the hospital, but was clearly shaken up.
Tyree said he is glad the two men didn't have weapons or it could have been worse.
He said he hopes the banking system for pot stores gets sorted out soon, because he feels if they were able to accept debit cards, then they would not have had the cash in the register to begin with.
KIRO
