PORT TOWNSEND — An armed man in a Halloween costume made off with the contents of the cash register at the Sea Breeze convenience store Monday night.
His face covered, a tall, slim male in a “headdress similar to that worn by an Arabian sheik” entered the store at 1408 W. Sims Way in Port Townsend just before 9:20 p.m., said Sgt. Ed Green of the Port Townsend Police Department.
He showed the gun to the clerk and demanded all the money in the cash register, Green said.
“The guy came in in costume,” said the clerk, Colleen Hawkins, on Tuesday.
“He walked down to the beer cooler and came back and said he had a gun and wanted the money.”
She didn’t believe him at first.
“I thought he was clowning around, and I said, ‘You’re kidding,’ and he said he wasn’t.
“He was getting nervous, and I knew I’d better give him the money,” she said.
After he took the money, he ran east on Hendricks Street toward Seventh Street, Green said.
The amount taken was a few hundred dollars. Green said police are not revealing the exact amount taken since the case is under investigation.
Seeking leads
Police are seeking anyone who saw the strange costume Monday night or who might have leads as to the robber’s identity.
“It’s such a unique costume, we’re hoping someone saw it,” Green said.
“We’re hoping to identify the individual. We have no leads as to who he is.”
He is considered armed and dangerous, Green said.
Anyone who locates him should not approach him but should phone 9-1-1, he said.
Video footage from cameras, which are on both the outside and inside of the store, show the robber as being 6 feet tall or taller with a slim build, Green said.
He is wearing a tan outfit with a white headdress, and his face is completely concealed, Green said.
He also appears to be wearing a dark-colored shirt and pants, Green said.
“While inside the store, the suspect adjusted his headdress, exposing the skin on his right hand, which appears to be white,” Green said, adding that the white color “could be a glove or something; we’re not sure.”
The robbery was terrifying, said Hawkins, who has worked at the store since May and who said such a thing has never happened to her before.
“I was in shock,” she said.
“I couldn’t even sleep or anything, and I can’t stop thinking about it.”
The owner was not available to comment Tuesday.
Police are asking anyone with information to phone Detective Jason Greenspane at 360-774-0583 or Green at 360-531-2091.
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Managing Editor/News Leah Leach can be reached at 360-417-3531 or leah.leach@peninsuladailynews.com.
