Seattle police arrested a 33-year-old woman Thursday evening after she allegedly stole hot coffee from a West Seattle gas station and threw it in a clerk’s face when asked to pay.
Officers responded just after 9:15 p.m. on April 10 to a gas station in the 5400 block of Delridge Way Southwest, where they found a 45-year-old employee with visible injuries and wet clothes smelling strongly of coffee.
According to Seattle police, the employee reported that the woman had entered the store and stayed for about 15 minutes without purchasing anything. She then filled two cups of hot coffee, left one on the counter, and walked out of the store holding the other without paying.
The employee told officers he followed the woman outside and asked her to pay for the drink. Instead, he said, she threw the hot beverage directly at his face and upper chest. Police said the clerk had a red, irritated face, neck, and chest, and told officers he was in significant pain.
After the incident, the woman ran into a nearby apartment building across the street, also in the 5400 block of Delridge Way Southwest. Officers located and detained her a short time later.
Police said the woman claimed she acted in self-defense. She was arrested and booked into King County Jail for investigation of robbery.
Seattle Fire Department medics treated the employee at the scene, but he declined further medical treatment or transport to a hospital.
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