EVERETT – The second glass of tomato juice tipped Terry Fleischbein off that the man at the booth was up to no good.
Fleischbein, 47, a waitress at the 112th Street Diner, served the man a bowl of oatmeal and a glass of tomato juice Tuesday morning. But he didn’t flinch when she mentioned a bank robbery up the street. Instead, he ordered another glass of juice.
“He should have freaked out and not worried about a second glass of juice,” Fleischbein said.
Police arrested the Oregon man, 53, inside the diner shortly after Fleischbein alerted her supervisor that the man was acting strange and fit the description of the robber.
He allegedly had money from the bank in his pockets.
“It’s great that the waitress followed her instincts. She hadn’t reached a solid conclusion, but she followed through,” Everett police Sgt. Boyd Bryant said.
Police had come into the diner before the man ordered his breakfast, asking employees to be on the lookout for a man who at 10:14 a.m. robbed the First Security Bank branch at 11102 Evergreen Way.
The man, wearing a wig and mustache, handed a teller a note saying he was armed and demanding money. He walked out of the bank with the money and fled to the diner, about a half a block away.
The waitress said he went into the bathroom for five or 10 minutes, then sat down at a booth in Fleischbein’s section.
He seemed to study the menu, but when Fleischbein asked him what he wanted, he asked if the diner had oatmeal and tomato juice. She knew he hadn’t really been reading the menu.
“He was nice, but he was acting really nervous. He was looking at the police cars outside,” she said.
The man was writing a letter to his parents on a napkin, and asked Fleischbein if she thought it was strange that he was writing to his mother so close to Father’s Day.
When the man asked for a second glass of juice, Fleischbein told her supervisor about the man’s suspicious behavior. The supervisor contacted police, who came inside and arrested the man.
Police found his car parked a short distance away. He was booked into Snohomish County Jail for investigation of second-degree robbery. Police are investigating whether he might be responsible for other robberies as well, Bryant said.
“I was hoping it was him. I thought, ‘If not, there goes my tip,’” Fleischbein said.
There was no tip for Fleischbein. The $6.91 bill wasn’t paid, either.
The waitress, who has been working at the diner only since January, did get the rest of the afternoon off.
Reporter Diana Hefley: 425-339-3463 or hefley@ heraldnet.com.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
