PORT ANGELES — A Port Angeles restaurant manager was injured while being robbed by a man with a 6-inch knife late Sunday night.
The robber remains at large after police searched for several hours and used a police dog in the hunt, Port Angeles Police Deputy Chief Brian Smith said.
Jaime Bautista, manager of Fiesta Jalisco Mexican Restaurant, returned home from Olympic Medical Center late Monday morning, several of his employees said.
Smith said the officers created a perimeter for several blocks around Fiesta Jalisco, at the corner of Front and Eunice streets, to preserve the area for the police dog to track the man.
“The dog was successful tracking him for a distance, but then lost track of him,” Smith said.
The assailant was described as a white man in his late 20s. He was between 5-foot-8 and 6 feet tall, Smith said.
The man was wearing a dark mask that showed only his eyes and mouth, a dark-colored hooded sweatshirt and dark jeans or sweatpants.
He was holding the 6-inch, smooth-blade, silver knife in his right hand.
Smith said Bautista was locking up the restaurant for the night and leaving when he encountered the robber in the parking lot.
The robber had already deflated one of the rear tires on Bautista’s pickup truck prior to the attack and was waiting for him when he walked out of the back door about 10:45 p.m. Sunday, Smith said.
He first showed the knife, demanded money, then grabbed Bautista by the shoulders, struck him and then when he was on the ground kicked him several times in the head.
He took Bautista’s wallet and keys and then returned the keys before escaping on foot, Smith said.
Police are investigating whether the assailant knows the victim.
“At this point it is unknown, but that is something that I’m sure our investigation will uncover,” Smith said.
Tips can be called into Crime Stoppers toll-free at 800-222-8477 or to the Port Angeles Police Department at 360-452-4545.
“At this point we are hoping someone who might know anything about the crime or the assailant might call in some tips,” Smith said.
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Reporter Paige Dickerson can be reached at 360-417-3535 or at paige.dickerson@peninsuladaily news.com.
