Felony charges for man who allegedly assaulted retail store employee

A Vancouver man was charged with two counts of a felony after allegedly stealing from a store in Olympia and assaulting the employee who attempted to stop him.

An April 11 document from the Thurston County Prosecuting Attorney indicated that Bryon Justin Steve, 32, was charged with two counts of second-degree robbery.

Olympia police arrested Steve on April 7 after a reported robbery on the 3500 block of Pacific Avenue.

The reporting party, a store employee, said a person was attacking her and hurling racial slurs at her. Dispatchers said they could hear what sounded like a physical struggle in the background.

An officer noted that the employee was crying and out of breath when they arrived at the scene.

The employee told police that she was at the ATM near the front door of the store when a shirtless man, later identified as Steve, walked in and began grabbing packs of cigarettes from behind the counter.

When she told Steve that he was not allowed behind the counter, the suspect came out and punched her in the head before fleeing the store, according to the employee.

The employee said she followed the suspect out into the parking lot while calling police, at which point Steve came back to assault her again and grab her phone. The phone was later found in the bushes, still on the line with dispatchers.

Police said surveillance footage corroborated the employee’s account. Steve was seen at one point appearing to cock back his left arm to hit the employee, who was outside the view of the camera. Later, he was seen lunging at her and grabbing her hands.

Officers later saw Steve walking eastbound on Pacific Avenue. The employee positively identified him as the robber.

Steve was booked into the Thurston County Jail for second-degree robbery.