Espresso stand robbed by man with gun

Five detained in connection with last week’s incident

Nate Hulings

of the Gateway

When Angie Sullivan took coffee orders from two men last week at Harbor Brew Espresso, she had no idea that, only moments later, she’d be robbed by a man with a gun.

The espresso stand, located at 1902 Point Fosdick Drive NW, was held up at about 4:30 p.m. on Oct. 6. Three men and two women have either turned themselves in or been arrested in connection with the robbery, including the man believed to have carried out the robbery, according to the Pierce County Sheriff’s Department.

The motive most likely was drug related, county sheriff’s department spokesperson Ed Troyer said.

Sullivan, 39, said when she started to prepare the orders for the two, she turned around to find a third man in a mask dressed in black. The man came in through the door, which was open because of the uncomfortable temperature inside the stand, Sullivan said.

“He said, ‘Give me your money,’” Sullivan said. “And I look at how little he was and thought, ‘I could totally take this kid.”

“Are you kidding me?” she responded.

The robber then opened his jacket to reveal his hand grasping the handle of a gun. Sullivan said the man never took out the weapon. Two pellet guns were recovered during a forensics search last weekend.

Sullivan admitted that if the robber had pulled the gun, her reaction would have been different.

“If he would have had the gun on me, I would have been pretty scared,” she said.

Sullivan began to empty the till, but she wasn’t fast enough. She said the masked man reached into the till and took the money himself. He also got all of the money from the tip jar, which only amounted to $1.

“Well, you can have this dollar,” Sullivan remembered telling the robber. Authorities say about $150 was taken from the stand.

As he left, the coins he snatched fell to the ground, leaving a trail to the street.

Sullivan said her nerves were strong until she called 9-1-1. She then began to shake with the reality of the situation, she said.

The men who ordered the coffee at the time later were detained and questioned separately. They were both arrested, Troyer said.

“I thought it was going to be a lot scarier than it was,” Sullivan said. “The thought did come to my mind, me being a stubborn smart-ass, to just punch him.

“More or less, just a little punk, that’s what it looked like to me.”

Sullivan said she’ll keep the door closed and locked from now on.

Before she left the stand nearly three hours after the holdup, Sullivan’s boss asked her if she wanted to take the next day off.

Her response? Forget about it.

“I’ve been doing coffee for 18 years,” she said. “I’m like a veteran now. I’m not even worried.”

Crime in Gig Harbor area

Multiple Gig Harbor homes have been burglarized over the past few months, many times when the homeowner has been present, Troyer said. Targeted items have included electronics, jewelry and credit cards.

Troyer said recent local crimes have been committed by the people in their late teens and 20s, a fact that does not boil down to a poor childhood.

“Most of them have led a decent life,” Troyer said. “But now they are out on their own.”

Recent crimes on the peninsula show a trend of individuals who steal to fuel their drug habits, namely methamphetamines or Oxycodone, Troyer said.

Although the recent holdup did not occur within Gig Harbor city limits, the city itself is not immune to crime. Gig Harbor ranks sixth in total crimes compared with 18 other Pierce County jurisdictions­ with more than 50 crimes per 1,000 residents, according to 2008 Uniform Crime Reporting data.