This Armed Robber Emptied the Register but Left a Tip for His Whiskey

As any bartender—or people who works in food service, for that matter—will tell you, tipping is important. A lot of questionable restaurant behavior can be excused under certain circumstances, whether it be overindulgence in table wine or the presence of a wailing child, but deny the staff a tip, and you might as well wear a sign that says "JERK" (or worse).

But apparently this principle doesn't just apply to customers; it also applies to armed robbers.

There's a brazen robber on the loose in the suburbs of Seattle who has recently held up three local restaurants in broad daylight. He's ruthless. He's unfettered. And he is gentlemanly enough to pay for his drinks, dammit.

On Monday, the robber hit Ma's Place, a low-key diner in Puyallup, Washington, with a bar inside. Last week, he had struck at two other breakfast joints: Elmer's in nearby Tacoma and The Buttered Biscuit in Sumner. (Maybe he has a thing for pancakes?)

And this time, "he seemed to know what he was doing," Ma's Place bartender Rachel told KOMO News. "He's probably supporting his habit."

When he got to Ma's, he entered the bar wearing a blond wig and a Seahawks beanie, ordered two shots of Jack Daniels, and paid for them with a $100 bill. (A high roller, sure, but probably using cash swiped by unsavory means the week prior.)

He then whipped around and demanded all of the money in the register, according to Rachel: "And then he asked for the bags, which are the money bags that we keep, and he took those. And then he backed out of the door and told me if I called anybody that he would be back."

"My insides melted," she told KOMO. "It was scary, very scary."

But before he made off with his loot, he stopped and left a 50-cent tip for his bar tab. Which, despite the mortal fear coursing through her veins as a deadly weapon was pointed in her face, Rachel appreciated.

"He scooped all of that [money] up and left me 50 cents, so I think I'll frame those. Lucky quarters," she said.

However, Rachel is concerned that the robbery spree will continue and that the culprit could end up hurting or even shooting someone if he's not caught soon. After all, he's likely feeling pretty confident, thanks or no thanks to the liquid courage provided by bourbon.

Captain Scott Engle of the Puyallup police department told KOMO, "He's been successful three times, so he's probably getting more bold and feeling like maybe he can get away with more … so we need the public's help in this case to identify him and quickly apprehend him."

One thing he knew he couldn't get away with, though: not leaving a tip. Any seasoned drinker, criminal or not, knows that it's pretty mandatory.