Shoplifting Suspect Pulls Gun on Home Depot Employee in Thurston County

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A 31-year-old man was arrested Sunday night on suspicion of first-degree robbery after he allegedly stole items from The Home Depot in Tumwater. After he was detained by a store employee for shoplifting, the man allegedly pulled out a gun, court records show.

However, the gun later turned out to be a pellet gun.

Court records give the following account:

Tumwater police were dispatched to the store about 7:20 p.m. Sunday after a report that a man had pulled a gun on a loss-prevention employee after that employee had tried to detain him for suspected shoplifting.

“When (the loss prevention employee) confronted the suspect about the stolen items, the suspect produced a handgun and told him to ‘back the f-- up,’” the court records read.

The suspect fled the scene, but was later stopped by police and taken into custody. The stolen items and the pellet gun were later found behind a nearby Walmart.

The suspect, according to court records, admitted to stealing but denied pulling out the gun.