Taxi Passenger Robs Gas Station While Driver Is In Toilet

A passenger inside a Washington taxi decided to rob a gas station while his driver was in the restroom.

Local police have alleged that Karl Elliker entered the establishment in Tacoma on Sunday night and told the Chevron station clerk that “he was sorry but he had to rob the place.”

The 24-year-old proclaimed that he had a bomb before telling the petrified assistant to give him $20 bills from the register. He then added that he was conducting this robbery because he was “desperate” for money after serving in the military and that he now had nothing. After being told this information the clerk suggested that Elliker should get help from the US Department of Veterans Affairs.

Unfortunately Elliker didn’t quite get the haul of cash he had intended because the clerk had recently just concluded a cash drop. Shortly after Elliker then left in the cab, but only once his driver had concluded his toilet break.

The clerk then contacted police and Pierce County Sheriff’s Office deputies soon apprehended Elliker. When quizzed about the incident inside the gas station Elliker conceded that he didn’t have a bomb, and he was then charged with attempted robbery.

The charging documents have since revealed that Elliker told police he was depressed because his prior criminal record had stopped him from realizing his dream of joining the military.

Pierce County Sheriff’s Office have failed to confirm whether Elliker had any previous convictions. However, according to UPI.com, in 2009, a 20-year-old Karl Jacob Elliker was arrested after he was found in possession of a pipe bomb in Oregon. He pleaded guilty to one count of unlawful possession of a destructive device.

After his arrest, Elliker told the Register- Guard, “Honestly, I just made it… to blow it up in a rock quarry with friends. I thought that was about the safest place to do it… I regret that I did it.” He also insisted that he regretted his actions, which came a year after a local officer and an Oregon State Police bomb squad member had been killed by a homemade explosive.

Elliker was placed on probation and then ordered to undergo mental health treatment. Elliker had been described as “a bright and very talented and creative young man who comes from a family who love him very much.” It’s believed that his mental state started to show signs of instability during his days at high school, and these were only exacerbated once he moved out onto his own.

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