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Marc Giauque and Mary Richards reportingA frustrating night for some would-be robbers in Salt Lake City, especially for one whose demand for cash went way wrong.
In Utah it may be a difficult deal to tell the difference between the words "fill" and "feel." Last night when a robber presented a bag at the Cafe Treo, he told the server to "fill" it.
"The employee thought the suspect said ‘feel' the bag, so the employee reached over and felt the bag," said Detective Jeff Bedard, spokesman for the Salt Lake City Police Department.
Bedard says the suspect replied, "You've gotta be kidding" and fled the store empty-handed. "Maybe he had a chance rethink his life of crime," Bedard said.
Police are also looking for someone who tried to hold up two Salt Lake businesses with a hypodermic needle. They say the would-be robber came into the Starbucks store near 900 East and 900 South, pointed a hypodermic syringe at employees and demanded money. The employees told him they couldn't open the safe, so he left.
Officers say just 15 minutes earlier he tried to rob a salon in Sugar House with a needle as well, but he left when they told him they had no money.
Witnesses say he was wearing brown gloves. Apparently he didn't want to get stuck with the needle but didn't care about the others.
E-mail: mgiauque@ksl.com
E-mail: mrichards@ksl.com
