Espresso stand owner fights knife-wielding teen
The owner of an espresso stand in North Spokane successfully fought off a would-be burglar earlier this week.
Bill Weisgerber, the owner of Deb’s Espresso on Northwest Boulevard, told police he got a call from his alarm company around 2 a.m. Wednesday and went to investigate. He found the door to a storage building forced open. Inside, he saw a 16-year-old boy armed with a knife, court documents say.
Weisgerber called police, but decided to take matters into his own hands. He wrestled with the teen, who tried to “gouge his eyes out,” he told police. Eventually, he was able to subdue the alleged burglar.
It’s not the first time the Weisgerbers have had to defend their espresso stand. The stand was robbed in 2014, according to KXLY. In 2011, the stand’s co-owner, Deborah Weisgerber, told KXLY she maced a robber who handed her a note demanding cash. Her sister was also robbed in the stand earlier that year, she said.
“It seems like our espresso stands are targeted more than other businesses,” said Spokane police spokesman Cpl. Jordan Ferguson, likely because they’re stand-alone structures that conduct much of their business in cash.
Weisgerber was able to detain the teen until police arrived. Responding officers found a large footprint on the door where the teen allegedly kicked it, as well as a six-inch serrated knife, court documents say.
The teen allegedly told police he “couldn’t sleep” and was “dinking around.” He faces a first-degree burglary charge.