‘Polite’ Robber Empties Restaurant’S Till

Sun., July 12, 1998

From Staff

Armed robbery isn’t supposed to go this smoothly.

After sitting down for dinner and three beers Saturday night at Szechuan Restaurant at 6508 N. Division, a man walked to the counter, pulled up his T-shirt to reveal the handle of a handgun stuffed in his pants, and calmly asked for all the money in the register, said Spokane police officer Glenn Bartlett.

The man stole an undisclosed amount of cash, and ran away from the scene at about 6:30 p.m.

“They (restaurant employees) said he was very polite,” Bartlett said.

The man was described as white, in his 30s, and with short light brown hair. He was wearing a black baseball cap and a black T-shirt, which he flung to the ground in the parking lot as he ran away.

Police were examining items on his table, such as the glass he drank from, for fingerprints Saturday night.

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