Detectives seek ID of suspect who crawled into casino office to steal more than $13,000
Crawling crook wanted for stealing over $13K from casino safe
King County Sheriff's detectives are asking for the public's help to ID a man who crawled into the office of a casino and stole more than $13,000 in cash out of the safe. "The manager had put all of the cash from the tills into the safe and he did not lock the safe. He then left the office, closed the safe, didn't lock and then walked to talk to some people on the floor," said King County Sheriff's Sgt. Ryan Abbott. Surveillance video shows the suspect drop down to all fours and crawl behind the counter into the office of the casino on Aurora Avenue North on September 27th between 10 and 11 p.m. "How he knew the safe was unlocked at that time, it was probably just luck on his part. It was a freak thing. He was going in to check on it anyway and low and behold, it was actually unlocked," said Sgt. Abbott.
SHORELINE, Wash. -- King County Sheriff's detectives are asking for the public's help to ID a man who crawled into the office of a casino and stole more than $13,000 in cash out of the safe.
"The manager had put all of the cash from the tills into the safe and he did not lock the safe. He then left the office, closed the safe, didn't lock and then walked to talk to some people on the floor," said King County Sheriff's Sgt. Ryan Abbott.
Surveillance video shows the suspect drop down to all fours and crawl behind the counter into the office of the casino on Aurora Avenue North on September 27th between 10 and 11 p.m.
"How he knew the safe was unlocked at that time, it was probably just luck on his part. It was a freak thing. He was going in to check on it anyway and low and behold, it was actually unlocked," said Sgt. Abbott.
Detectives say the manager didn't realize the money had been stolen until later when he went back to lock the safe.
"I'm sure he just thought he was gonna leave for a minute and be right back, but it just took that split second for this guy to crawl in, take the money and crawl back out and leave," said Sgt. Abbott.
Employees say the man had been seen in the casino for the last three weeks, but nobody knew his name.
"We want to catch this guy bad. He stole a large sum of money here and most likely he's looking for his next target to get some more money and figure out where else he can hit, so the hope is that somebody recognizes him, knows who this guy is and can call in an anonymous tip so that we can go grab him and put him behind bars," said Sgt. Abbot.
Crime Stoppers of Puget Sound is offering a cash reward of up to $1,000 for information that leads to an arrest. If you can identify the suspect or tell detectives where to find him, call 1-800-222-TIPS (8477), submit the information at www.P3Tips.com or through the P3 Tips App that you can download to your cell phone for free.