Armed, ski mask-wearing robber strikes three Midland businesses in three days
An armed robber went on a three-day crime spree in the Midland area last weekend, sending employees into hiding as he shot bullets into a ceiling.
The Pierce County Sheriff’s Department needs your help in catching the ski mask-wearing suspect.
First robbery: 11:46 p.m. Nov. 16, Chevron gas station, 104th Street E. and Portland Avenue.
Second robbery: 12:02 a.m. Nov. 17, Union 76 gas station, 99th Street E. and Golden Given Road E.
Third robbery: 12:43 a.m. Nov. 18, Bigfoot Java espresso stand, 112th St. E. and Portland Avenue.
In the Chevron robbery, the suspect displayed a firearm. He then demanded and took cash from the clerk, according to the Sheriff’s Department.
Less than an hour later and under a mile away the same suspect walked into the Union 76 gas station, banged on the cash register and reportedly fired three gun shots into the ceiling, according to the Sheriff’s Department. The clerk hid behind the counter. The suspect fled without getting any money.
In the first two robberies, the suspect was described as a short male wearing a red jacket, brown pants and a gray ski mask.
Early the following morning, the suspect knocked on the window of the Bigfoot Java stand and then tried to pry it open. He pointed a firearm at the barista, according to the Sheriff’s Department. The barista hid in the back of the business. The suspect fled on foot without any money.
The suspect, shown in security video, appeared to be a male. He was about five-foot-six tall and 215 pounds. He was wearing a white hooded sweatshirt, black pants, black gloves, a gray ski mask and a red backpack.
The Sheriff’s Department is asking anyone with information to contact them or Crime Stoppers.
