PORT ANGELES — Detectives on Wednesday were examining surveillance videos from dozens of business and city cameras in areas around Just Rewards Espresso, which was robbed Tuesday, for images of the robber, who remained at large.
The coffee stand at 1001-A E. First St., Port Angeles, was robbed at about 6:35 p.m. Tuesday.
A man who was in his 40s to 50s displayed a black handgun to a barista and demanded money, Port Angeles Police Deputy Chief Brian Smith said.
He escaped with an undisclosed amount of cash. Despite combing the area around the coffee stand that night, police found no sign of the robber.
Smith said it would take detectives awhile to examine the video footage.
If they spot him, they may find clues as to which direction he fled, as well as an imagethat might be used to help identify him.
“There are many, many cameras in that area, some that people might not even know are there,” Smith said. “There are more cameras than are obvious, more than you would think.
“We are going to take our time and really look through them carefully.”
One complication, Smith said, is that business people who have surveillance cameras sometimes don’t know exactly which direction, or how much space, their cameras cover.
So, as detectives review the footage, they are also going through cameras that might not initially appear to have evidence but that could have caught images of the robber.
Robber’s description
The robber was described by the barista as taller than 6 feet, with salt-and-pepper hair, a thin build and wearing a fake goatee.
He was wearing a blue baseball cap, glasses and a tan jacket, police said.
Port Angeles officers, with help from the U.S. Border Patrol and Clallam County Sheriff’s Office, created a perimeter of 1-mile radius around the drive-through espresso stand after the robbery Tuesday night.
They searched within that area for the robber.
The Port Angeles Police Department also had police dogs and their handlers searching for the man for several hours after the robbery.
The police activated a reverse 9-1-1 system to area businesses in which a recorded message was phoned into the businesses alerting them to the situation.
The robber probably “cased the joint,” or spent some time during the day watching it and looking around the area, Smith said.
“We would really like businesses to remember this,” he said.
“Anytime they think that there is someone who is not making use of the business and appears to be surveilling them, acting in a manner as if they are preparing themselves for criminal act or acting otherwise suspiciously, they should immediately call police.
“It does look like this man did in this case.
“It is a very common thing in armed robberies, as well.”
Anyone with more information on this case, or who wants to report suspicious behavior, should phone 360-452-4545, Smith said.
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Reporter Paige Dickerson can be reached at 360-417-3535 or at paige.dickerson@peninsuladaily news.com.
