OLYMPIA, Wash. — Surveillance video obtained by KIRO-7 shows burglar Ronald Bailey reaching behind the counter at an Olympia Shell gas station and convenience store and pulling the clerk's wallet out of her purse. The store clerk, Nicole Hoff, was filling a cooler when Bailey came in and did not hear him even though he was just 20 feet away from her. Hoff noticed her wallet was missing when she got home from work and the next morning watched the store surveillance video and saw Bailey committing the crime. Hoff said "I'm very angry that he would do it right there and I still didn't know it."
After the theft, Bailey went on a shopping spree at five south Sound stores, including a Safeway store where surveillance cameras show him buying three bottles of liquor. Hoff is upset none of the clerks checked his identification since Bailey was using a debit card that said Nicole Hoff. "He went to five different stores back to back. It's amazing that nobody decides to check ID or he would have been caught right then and there," said Hoff.
Police were still able to arrest Bailey quickly for the crimes, but then he was released while detectives conducted some follow-up investigation.
After being released from custody, Bailey struck again, targeting a Tumwater Jack in the Box.
Surveillance video shows Bailey, who is a large man, trying to reach the cash register through the drive-in window at the Jack in the Box. When he realizes he can't reach the cash drawer, he climbs up and squeezes his way through the window using a counter to brace himself so he didn't fall headfirst to the ground. Bailey can then be seen on the video trying to figure out how to open the cash drawer. The restaurant was still open while Bailey committed the crime but the two employees were outside taking a break in between customers.
Bailey finally got the cash drawer open and took all the cash before turning to try and leave through the window. However he realized there was nothing to break his fall on the way out, so he turned and boldly walked right out the front door.
A few moments later, a car pulled into the drive through and the two employees returned to the store. The clerk can be seen in the surveillance video opening the cash drawer and just standing, stunned at the drawer because it is empty. "He's mentally processing the fact the money he knew was there was no longer there," said Thurston County deputy prosecutor Mark Thompson.
Police officers were able to quickly identify Bailey in the surveillance video. Given the large volume of surveillance video showing him committing the alleged crimes, Bailey soon agreed to plead guilty and is currently serving a three month jail sentence.
KIRO
