A man has been arrested on charges of armed robbery in Seattle in the United States. It has been described by some sources as “one of the politest cases of theft ever caught on camera”.
Gregory Hess, a 65-year old man, entered a Shell petrol station in Seattle to buy a cup of coffee. He proceeded to politely ask John Henry to open the till, allegedly saying, “Can you open that till for me? Can you put it right there?” The confused petrol station owner asked Hess what he wanted, but Hess just repeated his previous command. Footage of the incident captured on the CCTV cameras in the shop - which emerged the day after the incident - appeared to show Hess bringing out a handgun, but he remained polite as he reiterated his demands.
Hess, who spoke of his family’s negative financial position, refused to accept Henry’s plea that he take just $40, rather than the $300 with which he eventually left. According to Henry, the 65 year old remained calm as he was handed the money. Upon his departure he said, “Thank you very much, I really appreciate it…if I ever get back on my feet again, sir, I'll bring it back."
The so-called ‘polite robber’ was caught after videos of the robbery were uploaded to the video-sharing website YouTube and viewers were able to help police identify the thief. He was charged by the Seattle authorities with first degree robbery and placed in the King County Jail on $250,000 bail. The authorities revealed that he had previously served a six-year sentence for robbing five banks and a video store.