Transient woman arrested in attempted robbery

Hoquiam, WA – A suspect has been arrested in a Hoquiam gas station robbery

Hoquiam Police Chief Jeff Myers issued a statement to KXRO saying that they have arrested a 40-year-old transient woman for a recent robbery.

Myers says that officers were dispatched to the Hoquiam Mobil station on Simpson Avenue Monday, August 19 just after 7pm. According to the report, a woman entered the store with a can of mace and demanded money from the register.

The woman allegedly tried to spray the clerk working at the time with the mace, but he was able to escape into the back of the store and barricade himself inside an office as another employee called 911.

The man was not injured and the woman left the store without any ill-gotten gains, fleeing down an alley toward Aberdeen Avenue.

When officers got to the area an Aberdeen Police Department K9 unit was used to track the woman, but was unsuccessful.

Myers says that surveillance footage was able to show a green sedan parked about a half block from the store before the robbery attempt that the woman was seen walking from and returning to after fleeing. 

A witness was able to identify the vehicle as being connected to a woman who used to live in the neighborhood and an attempt to locate was put out.

Officers located the vehicle in a parking lot in Aberdeen where the 40-year-old transient woman was arrested. 

Clothing worn in the robbery and a can of mace were found in the vehicle.

The woman was booked into the Grays Harbor County Jail for attempted robbery.