A suspected shoplifter pulled a knife on employees at Home Depot during a confrontation over a shopping cart full of unpaid merchandise Tuesday afternoon at Lemon Creek store, according to a Juneau Police Department release.
The suspect, described as a 5-foot, 8-inches tall, 220-pound Alaska Native or Hispanic man with a ponytail, fled the scene and has not been located.
JPD received a report of a shoplifter at 2:43 p.m. Tuesday, the release states. Store employees reported that they attempted to stop a man with a cart of about $400 worth of unpaid merchandise.
A customer from the store who was watching the incident grabbed the suspect’s arm in an attempt to detain him, according to police. A short struggle ensued, during which the man was reported to have pulled out a knife and threatened store employees with it.
The suspect, who was wearing a black windbreaker, was reported to then have left the area, running down the hill along the back side of Home Depot. He was seen getting into a blue extended cab GMC pickup with black rims.
Store employees also identified another person in the store who they believed was associated with the robbery suspect. JPD officers contacted the person, identified as William Eric Moy Jr., 25, inside the store. Moy Jr. was in possession of unpaid store merchandise, concealed under his clothing, police say.
Moy Jr. was placed under arrest for concealment of store merchandise, a class B misdemeanor. He was taken to Lemon Creek Correctional Center.
Store manager Hector San Miguel referred the Empire to Home Depot’s public relations department, located in Atlanta, when he was contacted for an interview at the store Wednesday. Home Depot public relations declined to comment, saying they didn’t want to interfere with a police investigation.
• Contact reporter Kevin Gullufsen at kgullufsen@juneauempire.com or at 523-2228. Follow him on Twitter at @KevinGullufsen.
