Olympia, Washington

From The Olympian of September 21, 2005

Man fires gun, stops break-in at grocery store

A man armed with a handgun stopped an attempted burglary suspect early Tuesday from breaking into Littlerock Grocery, the sheriff's office reported.

The perpetrator was equipped with a hand truck to haul out whatever he planned on stealing, authorities said. He also carried bolt cutters to cut a chain around the door.

He took the tools with him as he fled in a dark-colored pickup, Thurston County sheriff's Chief Criminal Deputy Dan Kimball said.

"It's not unusual to have a smash-and-grab. But it seems to me to be a little more elaborate, a little more 'obvious' would be the word to use," Kimball said.

The attempted burglary was reported about 3:20 a.m. by a neighbor who noticed the perpetrator's pickup in a parking lot across the street. A few minutes later, he saw the perpetrator in front of the store at 6410 128th Ave. S.W., Kimball said.

The 41-year-old neighbor fired one warning shot with a .38- caliber revolver into the ground.

"Which, at 3 in the morning, would get anybody's attention," Kimball said.

The perpetrator heard the shot and ran to his pickup. The neighbor then pointed the gun in the perpetrator's direction and ordered him to stop, Kimball said.

But the perpetrator ignored him. He tossed the hand truck into the pickup and sped off south on Littlerock Road, without turning on his headlights.

Investigators think he had the hand truck to carry out an ATM machine inside the store.