Two men picked up a couple of cases beer and then walked out of Jiffy Trip in Arkansas City without paying Monday evening. A witness who stepped out of the store to get the license plate on the men’s car met a third man waiting outside who pointed a gun at the witness, according to Ark City Police Chief Sean Wallace.
The witness backed off and the three suspects left in a newer model shiny red vehicle, possibly a Cadillac product, Wallace said.
The incident occurred about 9:30 p.m. at the store in the 1000 block of S. Summit Street.
Officers at first thought they were dispatched to a robbery but found when they arrived it involved shoplifting, and then the subsequent aggravated assault that occurred in the parking lot between the shoplifters and the customer.
The clerk reported two Hispanic males stole the three cases of beer and a third Hispanic man was waiting outside. The two men who were in the store were described as in their early to mid twenties, both wore white tank tops and one wore a blue bandanna with sunglasses on his head.
There was no description on the third man with the firearm.
Anyone with information about the crime is urged to call Ark City Police at 620-441-4444 or Crime Stoppers at 620-442-7777 or 620-221-7777. If your tip leads to an arrest you can be eligible for up to a $1,000 reward and you will be kept completely anonymous.
