‘Was that pepper spray?’ Police seek 2nd suspect in brazen Gig Harbor shoplift
Gig Harbor Police are investigating a March 30 shoplifting incident where two men allegedly stole several bottles of alcohol and one of them pepper-sprayed a store employee who was video-recording them with her cell phone.
Police arrested one suspect and are looking for the second, according to a Police Department Facebook post on April 21. The arrested suspect is a 19-year-old man, Gig Harbor Police Chief Kelly Busey told The News Tribune via phone around 5:15 p.m. on April 21.
Officers were able to track down the registered owner of the vehicle that the suspects used to escape after a witness recorded the license plate, the post said. The owner told police that it was likely in the possession of her adult son, who was reportedly living on the streets in Tacoma. Detectives used that information to arrest a man after finding him in an alley in Tacoma and following him to a nearby pawn shop.
Police booked that suspect into the Pierce County Jail on suspicion of robbery, assault and theft of a motor vehicle, according to the post. His bail is set for $35,000.
The employee “was in pain due to the pepper-spray exposure” but told police she didn’t require medical aid, according to police reports appended to an affidavit for the suspect’s arrest. She alleged the suspect who sprayed her took about six bottles of whiskey without paying.
Police also learned from witnesses that the two suspects were allegedly inside the store for under a minute before they exited with the liquor bottles, according to the reports. The officers also learned that a female driver allegedly waited in a car parked in front of the store before the suspects returned with the stolen merchandise and rode away.
Editor’s note: This story has been updated with the age of the arrested suspect and information from police reports.
This story was originally published April 21, 2025 at 3:30 PM.
