Washington store clerk restrains suspected shoplifter with duct tape

CLALLAM BAY , Wash., Feb. 21 (UPI) -- Is there anything duct tape can’t do?

When police arrived at the Weel Road Deli in Clallam Bay, Wash., to arrest a suspected shoplifter, they found the man duct-taped up into a neat little package outside the store.

After store clerk Cipriano Ojeda allegedly saw Alexander Greene, 28, walking out of the store with six beers and three bottles of malt liquor stuffed in his backpack, he confronted him.

The suspect wounded Ojeda, 46, in the forehead with a knife, but the clerk was able to restrain him and pin him to the ground.

When officers from the Clallam County Sheriff's Office, they found Greene outside on the sidewalk with all four of his limbs bound with duct tape.

“We actually had help from another business's employee down the sidewalk that helped duct-tape the suspect,” deli owner Marcia Hess told the Peninsula Daily News. “It was a team effort, [though] Cipriano definitely had him pinned down.”

Greene was arrested and is being investigated on charges of first-degree robbery, second-degree assault and third-degree theft.

“In my eyes, Cipriano is a hero,” Hess said. “In fact, I gave him the rest of the day off -- paid. I'm really happy to have him. He's pretty protective.”

[Peninsula Daily News] [KOMO]