Police arrest "polite robber"

BY Larry Rice  on February 7, 2011 @ 8:22 am (Updated: 1:30 pm - 3/28/11 )

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By LARRY RICE
KIRO Radio

Seattle Police have arrested a man they believe to be "the polite robber."

He is 65-years-old, and is a convicted felon, including convictions for Forgery and Armed Robbery. After a video of the crime was released, complete with sound, "the tips came pouring in," said King County Sgt. John Urquhart.

"We caught him at his home in the Top Hat neighborhood of Seattle, not far from White Center, where the crime took place," said Urquhart.

>>>Watch the video of the polite robber

"I'm really sorry that I have to do this, but I've got kids," the robber is heard saying on video surveillance as he holds up a Shell Station in White Center.

The owner says he's been robbed four times in the past five years, but this is the first robber he'd felt pity for.

"I looked at him and he looked like a nice guy," store owner John Henry told KIRO Radio's Dori Monson Show.

"I think he said, 'I need to pay my rent' and all this stuff, and he held me with a gun. It looked real, I didn't want to take a chance," Henry said. He got away with $300.

Listen to Henry on the Dori Monson Show

After an audible 'thank you' on the surveillance video, and continued politeness throughout the interaction, Henry said he has well wishes for the robber. "I'm just praying for him, that the Lord may make him change his life."

The man's demeanor at the time of arrest is unknown.

"He's facing very serious armed robbery charges," Urquhart said. "He could be looking at some serious prison time if he's convicted."

Larry Rice, 97.3 KIRO FM Anchor
I don't do windows and I don't do sports, but I do everything else.
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Comments (7)


  • Add A Comment

  • artimus wrote...
    Previous conviction for armed robbery?
    February 7, 2011 3:08 pm
    That's not very polite.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • jpetro wrote...
    Did they
    February 7, 2011 3:11 pm
    arrest him politely?
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • WShadow206 wrote...
    u gotta do
    February 7, 2011 3:52 pm
    what you gotta do to survive
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Weiser Postban wrote...
    I hope the other prison men are polite
    February 7, 2011 3:54 pm
    To him and his body.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Cliff Hanger wrote...
    Who is Dori Monson?
    February 7, 2011 6:13 pm
    jsonp1297134700076?
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Edmund Fitzgerald wrote...
    lucky
    February 8, 2011 5:14 am
    b-strd; someone packing in that store could have put a muzzle in HIS polite snout; reeeeeal lucky; or some shop owner would have taken a 12-ga and made spaghetti of Mr Polite; it's still a deadly threat and too bad it was not handled in the same manner; glad the shop guy is fine; screw the perp; he's no hero
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • SeattleD wrote...
    Certain crimes don't pay
    February 8, 2011 7:29 am
    Rob a store for a few hundred bucks? That's no way to make a living. Plus the cops are going to get you eventually. Rob a bank for a few thousand bucks? That's no way to make a living. Plus the cops are going to get you eventually.

    But steal people's identity and the cops will refuse to look for you or try to prosecute the crime. That's why it has been the fastest growing crime over the past years.

    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }