LEMON GROVE, Calif. (KGTV) — The San Diego County Sheriff's Department says it is searching for a man who threatened a Sprouts employee with an axe as she confronted him about shoplifting in the store.
A sheriff's watch commander said the incident happened around 4:15 p.m. at the Sprouts Market located at 3205 Lemon Grove Ave.
Deputies described the suspect as a homeless man, and they say a female Sprouts worker approached him and asked him to put the items he was shoplifting back.
The man then took out a "hatchet-style" axe with a 12 to 14 inch handle and threatened her with it. The suspect then left the store and ran away, according to the sheriff's department.
The watch commander says they used a helicopter to look for the man, but as of 8 p.m. Saturday they have yet to find him.
According to a City News Service report, police described the suspect as a white man in his 30s, who is about 6 feet 2 inches tall, weighs roughly 180 pounds and has blonde hair. Police also told CNS he wore a white T-shirt, shorts and black, calf-high snow boots.
The sheriff's department was not able to confirm if the suspect took the items or left them behind in the store before he ran away.
