Man steals Subway register

The man was arrested within a half hour after the report.

By Caitlin Jones

Published Oct. 30, 2009

Twenty-five minutes after the initial robbery, a Columbia resident was arrested for stealing the cash register from a local Subway, a Columbia Police Department news release stated.

Columbia Police officers responded to a robbery at approximately 3:45 p.m. Monday, the news release stated. The robbery took place at the Subway at 2716 Paris Road.

Stirling J. Harris, 47, was the suspect, the news release stated.

According to the news release, when Harris entered the store, the only employee working was a female clerk. Harris purchased a cookie and then grabbed the cash register as she was making change for him.

"We are not disclosing the employee's name because he (Harris) does have the potential to bond out and he can recognize her," CPD spokeswoman Jessie Haden said.

According to the news release, a struggle occurred between the employee and Harris, but Harris was able to take the register and leave the store. The employee observed the suspect's direction of travel and the vehicle he used to leave the area.

The employee received some scratches but was otherwise uninjured, the news release stated.

According to the news release, the suspect's vehicle was a 1990 burgundy Toyota 4-Runner. CPD spotted the vehicle a short time later near Stadium Boulevard and Broadway. Harris then led police officers on a short vehicle pursuit before exiting the vehicle and running on foot back toward the Crossroads Shopping Center. He was taken into custody at that location about 25 minutes after the initial robbery report.

"The quick arrest was a combined effort of the observant Subway employee who provided us with a good vehicle description and the observant patrol officers who spotted him and took him into custody safely, despite his efforts to avoid arrest," Haden said in the news release.

Charges the suspect might face include second-degree robbery, resisting arrest, use of a motor vehicle in commission of a felony, careless and imprudent driving and other traffic charges, the news release stated. He has made incriminating statements and more charges might be forthcoming.

According to the news release, the cash register and its contents were recovered.

"We are not disclosing the amount," Haden said.

The employee said she wasn't scared.

"I was more upset," she said. "I was just not about to let some person rob me and that is why we struggled. My initial reaction was, 'You're not about to take my money.' I wasn't really thinking about the money, it was just more of a disrespect thing. I thought, 'You're not about to rob my store.' "

The employee said no further precautions were being implemented to prevent this type of thing from happening again. She said there are already security cameras in the restaurant.

"No, there is nothing more they can do," she said. "It was something that just happened."