SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) - Witnesses told deputies a man became “irate” over grocery store employees’ requests that he wear a mask, ultimately attacking an employee with a glass bottle, according to a Spokane County Sheriff’s Office news release.
Once he is arrested, deputies will recommend felony charges of robbery and second-degree assault, the Spokesman-Review reported.
Around 9:40 a.m. Friday, Spokane Valley Deputies responded to a report of a disorderly customer who was refusing to leave the Grocery Outlet near the intersection of Sprague Avenue and Pines Road, officials said.
A store employee told deputies the man was not wearing a mask and employees asked him several times to put a mask on. After ignoring the requests, at the checkout stand, an employee refused to sell goods costing about $15 total to the man.
He “became irate,” and the two argued, the release said.
The man walked out without paying for the items and an employee confronted him, the release said. The suspect threw a coffee bottle at the employee that struck him in the head before shattering on the ground, officials said.
The customer then picked up a piece of the broken bottle, “holding it as a weapon,” and threatened the employee, the release said. The suspect fled before police arrived.
Witnesses described the man as white, in his 20s, with long hair and wearing a white sweatshirt and blue jeans, the release said. The employee struck in the head declined medical attention at the scene.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.