By reporter Steven Smalley
A trip to use the facilities in the backyard of a job site turned up an unexpected intruder Tuesday following a robbery at the Magnolia Bank of America.
?The Porta-Potty was shaking around. The guy exits out of it and runs down the street,? explains a contractor working on a new home on 34th Avenue West. ?I thought he was a jogger using the john.?
Then, after the contractor discovered clothes in the toilet, and noticed lots of police around, he flags down an officer and to report his findings. Turns out the contractor had just seen a stickup man changing clothes after a heist. ?It didn’t take me too long to put two and two together,? he says. Magnolia Voice spoke exclusively with this worker ? the only eyewitness to have seen the true identity of the thief.
According to reports, the robber wore a Halloween mask that hid his face. It wasn’t even known whether he was a man or woman at first. Turns out the perp was a slender man. ?He was a young Caucasian guy in his twenties with curly and greasy hair,? says the witness. ?Police came by with eight mugshots. None were the guy.?
Seattle Police also drove the witness to see a resident they were holding who was walking two dogs. ?It was not him,? the witness revealed.
Police detectives retrieved clothes from the toilet, including a jacket, pants and shoes, plus a shopping bag and mask. They did not find a gun.
?I had a sneaking suspicion they were missing something. I was right,? revealed the contractor. ?No gun was there according to police, until I found a gun. It was sitting in the corner (of the toilet tank).?
Although not an actual handgun, the weapon used to threaten bank employees was an air-soft toy pistol that shoots plastic pellets. Police returned later to pick it up.
?Looked like your basic 9mm,? said the witness.
Not too shaken, the contractor took all the excitement in stride.
?I wish I would have stopped him. I really would have got some points then,? he said.
Seattle Police and the FBI are currently looking for any information regarding the identity of the robber. Call them if you can help.
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