Police arrest woman for throwing hot coffee on clerk

WEST SEATTLE, Wash. - A 33-year-old woman was arrested Thursday after police say she stole hot coffee from a West Seattle gas station and threw it at a clerk when asked to pay.

The backstory:

Officers responded to the incident at a gas station in the 5400 block of Delridge Way Southwest on Apr. 10 just after 9:15 p.m. They found a 45-year-old employee wet and smelling of coffee and noted her skin looked red. The clerk reported being in severe pain.

The employee told investigators that the woman entered the store and lingered for about 15 minutes without purchasing anything. She then reportedly filled two cups with hot coffee at the coffee station and left the store with one cup, abandoning the second at the counter.

The clerk followed the woman outside, asking her to pay for the coffee. In response, she allegedly threw the hot beverage at his face and upper chest before fleeing into an apartment building across the street.

Seattle police located and detained the woman, who claimed she acted in self-defense. She was arrested and booked into King County Jail for robbery charges.

Seattle Fire Department medics provided medical aid to the gas station employee, who declined to be transported to the hospital.

The Source: Information for this article comes from the Seattle Police Department.