SPOKANE, Wash. - A 17-year-old male is in custody after attempting to steal liquor from a Rosauers grocery store on Spokane's South Hill on the first day of privatized liquor sales in the state of Washington.
According to police, at around 6:30 a.m., only 30 minutes after the store opened, the teenage boy was carrying two bottles of Hennessy cognac toward the checkout line then abruptly attempted to run out of the store toward a carpool of other teenagers, only to be tackled by several employees.
Employees say the suspect was highly intoxicated and actually swung one of the bottles at the employees in an attempt to ward off being apprehended.
Despite being held for questioning for more than 90 minutes in a Rosauers upstairs office, the teen had to be helped back down the stairs due to his intoxication level.
Because the boy attempted to engage in a fight with employees, the charges were upgraded from shoplifting to felony robbery.
Rosauers officials told KHQ's Kelsey Watts that they're not particularly concerned about liquor theft amid the new liquor sales law, as most bottles of liquor sold at their stores have security tags attached to the bottle's necks.
Watch Kelsey Watts' report on KHQ Local News at 5 & 6 for the latest on this story.
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