Warrant issued for man who twice robbed Safeway store in Tacoma

A warrant was issued Thursday for a 54-year-old man suspected of twice robbing the same Safeway store in Tacoma.

Pierce County prosecutors have charged Darnell Walker with two counts of first-degree robbery.

The first holdup was Jan. 15 at the store in the 700 block of South 56th Street.

According to charging papers, Walker went to the customer service counter, asked for a manager and then pushed his jacket aside to show a gun holstered at his waist.

He then demanded money from the safe and fled once the manager put cash in a bag, prosecutors said.

Ten days later, according to the court documents, Walker returned to the same store and did the same thing.

After running outside, he pointed a gun at a security guard before fleeing, according to the documents. He dropped money as he did so.

Police were identified Walker as the robber within days and store employees picked him out of a photo lineup.

This story was originally published March 25, 2016 at 11:16 AM with the headline "Warrant issued for man who twice robbed Safeway store in Tacoma."