MOUNTLAKE TERRACE — When a man armed with a metal baton demanded his wallet in a dark parking lot Wednesday night, George Stefurak’s first thought was to run.
“My first instinct was, I knew I would be able to outrun any criminal,” Stefurak said.
The Mill Creek man, 34, managed to escape, but that wasn’t the end of the story. Stefurak, who had nearly been robbed just a few minutes earlier, pursued the suspect until police arrived.
The incident occurred about 11:15 p.m. in the 21900 block of Highway 99, Mountlake Terrace police Sgt. Doug Hansen said. The 37-year-old suspect, of Spokane, was booked into the Snohomish County Jail for investigation of first-degree robbery.
That night, Stefurak had just finished his work as a dealer at Red Dragon Casino. He was walking to his car, parked in the employee lot, when he heard a voice behind him ask for a lighter. When Stefurak turned, he noticed the man was holding a metal baton.
The suspect demanded his wallet and Stefurak started running back to the casino. When Stefurak saw that the robber couldn’t keep up, he stopped and used his cell phone to call 911.
“He was content with just walking away, but I wasn’t,” Stefurak said. “I felt it was my duty to help put this guy in jail.”
While on the phone with the police, Stefurak followed the man to his car and got his license plate number.
He said the man drove into a dead end, and by the time he had made a U-turn and found a way out of the parking lot, deputies were on scene.
“I really wanted to help capture the guy. I felt angry that he wanted to steal from me,” Stefurak said, adding that the training he got during his six years in the Army proved useful.
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