On Monday, August 19, 2019 at 1909 hours, Hoquiam officers were dispatched to a robbery at the Mobil station located in the 2600 block of Simpson Ave.

A female entered the store, produced a can of mace, and demanded the clerk turn over the cash from the register.

The clerk was able to flee into the back of the store and barricade himself in an office while another employee called 911.  Although the suspect attempted to spray the clerk, he was not otherwise injured in the attack.

The female left the store without the cash and fled down an alley toward Aberdeen Avenue.

Officers converged on the area and were assisted by a canine unit from Aberdeen PD.  The canine was able to track the female down the alley, but the scent abruptly stopped. 

As officers and detectives reviewed the surveillance video, they discovered a green sedan had parked about a half block from the store before the robbery.  The suspect was observed walking to the store from the car and then returning to the car immediately after the robbery.

In speaking with a neighbor about a block from the store, officers learned a female with the described car used to live in the area.  Officers were able to identify a possible suspect name and then located a license plate for the vehicle as listed a 2018 vehicle collision report in Aberdeen.

An attempt to locate for the suspect was broadcast to all local law enforcement agencies; the suspect was believed to be living out of her car somewhere in the area.

During the night, patrol officers checked locations where the suspect could be parked overnight.  At 2310 hours, the suspect was located in her car in the Walmart parking lot and arrested by Hoquiam officers.  Clothing worn in the robbery and a can of mace were recovered from the car.

The woman, a 40-year old transient, was interviewed by detectives and then booked in the Grays Harbor County Jail for attempted robbery.