Wal-Mart employees stop attempted theft of TV

Three Spokane Valley Wal-Mart employees were doused with pepper spray early Monday when a pair of thieves attempted to steal a flat-screen television and DVD player about 40 minutes after midnight.

The employees said they individually noticed a man and woman pushing a shopping cart containing a 32-inch Emerson TV and a Sony Blu-Ray disk player toward the eastern-most front doors, according to Sgt. Dave Reagan, spokesman for Spokane County Sheriff’s Office and Spokane Valley police.

When the cart reached the doors, the unpaid merchandise alarm sounded. The three employees attempted to stop the thieves, but the man turned and began spraying pepper spray into the entryway from a large canister, Reagan said.

At the same time, an employee in the parking lot noticed a tan Ford Escort or Contour back up to the front doors. It had a black front fender and “fake” chrome hubcaps, and was driven by a white male. The male and female theft suspects jumped into the car and it took off westbound on Broadway at a high rate of speed.

Although none of the employees was seriously injured in the incident, one was hit directly in the face with the spray. Afterward, employees had to bag the television and DVD player in plastic bags to suppress the pepper spray fumes on them.

The male theft suspect was described as white, 19 to 22 years old and about 5-foot-7 to 5-9. He wore a light blue baseball cap and multicolored ski jacket. The female was described as having dirty blonde hair and being 5-foot-4 and 120 pounds.

A folding knife was found on the floor where the employees first confronted the two thieves. It was seized for fingerprint examination.

Anyone with information about this robbery is asked to call the Spokane Valley police at 242-TIPS.