GOLD BAR — A man was arrested Tuesday night after he allegedly took a cashier hostage with a pistol at a Gold Bar grocery store, leading to a police standoff, authorities said.
Just after 6:15 p.m., the man, 55, entered the Gold Bar Family Grocer on Croft Avenue, according to a police report. He was naked from the waist down, witnesses reported. His pants were in his hand.
A cashier reportedly yelled at him to leave, but instead he sped toward the door of the office in the supermarket.
Inside, another cashier was counting up her till. She thought the man mistook the office for a bathroom since he was exposed. The man locked the door and yelled at her, police said. Her coworkers tried to get in to help, but she yelled for them to stop because the suspect had a .45-caliber pistol. He sat in front of the door, not allowing the hostage to leave.
Staff evacuated from the grocery store, according to police. When Snohomish County sheriff’s deputies arrived, they evacuated from the parking lot, as well. A SWAT team was also at the scene.
The Gold Bar man told the cashier people were chasing him and trying to kill him. He said he couldn’t open the door, according to the police report. She asked him to let her go, but he refused.
While they were in the office, the cashier gave the man alcohol, food and cigarettes to try to keep him happy.
Just after 9:45 p.m., over three hours since the man entered the store, negotiators reportedly convinced him to leave. He came out of the store without his gun, where police arrested him for investigation of first-degree kidnapping, a felony, and indecent exposure, a misdemeanor.
The cashier was not injured, police reported.
The standoff closed a small part of U.S. 2 in Gold Bar for about a half hour, according to the Washington State Patrol.
Authorities planned to obtain surveillance footage from the store Wednesday.
Due to a previous criminal conviction, the man had to petition in 2020 for his firearm rights to be restored, court records show. Snohomish County prosecutors did not object to the petition. In September 2020, Superior Court Commissioner Patricia Nelson approved the man’s petition to restore his right to have a gun.
At a court hearing Wednesday, prosecutors pushed for $50,000 bail. The defense asked for far less.
Noting the man’s minimal criminal history, Everett District Court Judge Anthony Howard set bail at $30,000. If the suspect posts bail, he’ll have to get a mental health evaluation in jail before release, the judge ordered.
“The allegations made in this police report are concerning to the court,” Howard told the suspect.
On Wednesday afternoon, the Gold Bar man remained in the Snohomish County Jail.
Jake Goldstein-Street: 425-339-3439; jake.goldstein-street@heraldnet.com; Twitter: @GoldsteinStreet.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
