Seattle police arrested two women Thursday after they pulled “bear mace” on shoe store employees during a robbery and fled in a stolen car—making for one poorly planned crime spree or a ready-made pitch for a gritty remake of Thelma and Louise.
Staff at the Rainier Beach Payless Shoes called police just after 11:30 am on May 2nd after they confronted the two women at the store about shoplifting.
Employees had seen one of the two women stuffing a pair of sandals into her purse and confronted the pair after they set off a theft alarm as they exited the store.
When shoe store staff confronted the two suspects outside the store, the suspects threatened the employees and one of the suspects pulled out a can of what a shoe store staffer later described as “bear mace.”
Both suspects then fled the scene in a Chevy Caprice as employees called 911.
Officers spotted the two women—who are 19 and 21 years old—driving away from the shoe store and stopped them near 54th Ave. S. and Seward Park Ave.
The car the suspects were driving had previously been reported stolen, although the women claimed they had just bought it from a man in Kent.
Officers arrested both women and took them back to the South Precinct.
At the precinct, the 19-year-old woman had a medical issue (unrelated to her arrest) and was taken to Harborview for treatment. Officers booked the 21-year-old woman into the King County Jail for robbery and auto theft.