South Sound police look for ‘zip tie’ robber

A masked, armed man who forces employees to zip tie themselves is robbing businesses from Olympia to Spanaway to Puyallup.

The latest crime happened Monday night in Puyallup, just after closing at Pizza Time on East Pioneer.

“He was armed with a handgun, it appeared to be a revolver and he took money from the register and from the safe,” said Police Chief Bryan Jeter.

Before that, he forced employees to the back of the restaurant into a restroom “and had the
employees zip tie themselves to the stalls, and prior to leaving he gave a pair of scissors to one of the employees and told them they could cut themselves loose after he left,” said Jeter. He drove away in a newer, tan Subaru Legacy four door.

It’s believed the same guy did two robberies in Olympia in the same day recently. He could be linked to four armed robberies in the last month. Jeter said there are no photos or video from Monday night’s robbery but there are images from the Olympia crimes.

The robber made no specific threats, other than the display of the handgun. Jeter described the crime as “very business-like” and over quickly.