A man who tried to rob a woman at gunpoint ended up running to Olympia police for help after he botched the stickup, police said.
The woman, who works at a downtown Olympia bar, stepped outside to smoke a cigarette in a dark alley Tuesday night, police said. A man walked up to her and demanded a cigarette.
According to police:
When the woman explained she didn’t have another cigarette, the man pulled out a handgun, cocked it and pointed it at her. He cursed at her and again demanded a cigarette and lighter.
As the woman was pleading with the man, she noticed his handgun was a plastic replica. The woman ripped the gun from the man and threw it over a nearby fence.
The man then ran down the alley, only to return a short time later swearing and cursing at the woman.
The woman screamed at the man and went back inside the bar to alert her co-workers and friends. One of her male friends walked outside and confronted the man. After a shoving match, the would-be cigarette thief ran off, screaming for someone to call 911. The victim and her co-workers called the police.
Officers encountered the frightened man running toward City Hall still yelling for someone to call 911. After sorting things out, police arrested the 22-year-old man and booked him into Thurston County Jail for investigation of attempted robbery.