By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter
A grocery customer who allegedly tried to shoplift pre-packaged biscuits and gravy yesterday found himself arrested for more serious charges after he reportedly made a motion with his hand as though he had a gun, saying “Pow, pow, pow,” while staff held him down.
Police called just before 1 p.m. to the 500 block of South Tower Avenue in Centralia were told a suspicious employee tried to block the path of Joshua E. Blankenship who then shoved the employee, according to the Centralia Police Department.
Fuller’s Shop ‘n Kart workers were able to stop him, Officer John Panco said, and when Blankenship then slipped and fell, he spilled his cup of coffee and the food item dropped out of his pocket.
That’s when he made the threat to kill the two employees by drawing his non-existent gun, according to Panco.
Blankenship, 25, from Chehalis, was arrested for second-degree robbery, felony harassment and booked into the Lewis County Jail, according to police.