Employee Punched After Robbery

A Walgreen?s employee is punched in the face after trying to stop a man from stealing cigarettes. It happened early Saturday morning at the Walgreens on Bonforte Boulevard.

Employees of the Walgreens were not allowed to comment on what happened, but several customers said they were shocked.

It was a peaceful Sunday outside of Walgreens, but on Saturday morning, violence filled the parking lot.

Police said it started when Henry Hillegass, 21, walked into the Walgreen?s and tried to steal cigarettes.

?It’s still horrible to find out violence was involved,? said Scott Giordano, a Walgreens customer.

Police told KRDO NewChannel 13 Hillegass punched one of the employees in the face. Even after all this, customers said it?s not their safety they?re worried about.

?Not mine, but the workers. I’m kind of concerned for them,? said Clint Cab, a Walgreens customer.

Employees tried to stop Hillegass, and there was an employee outside who managed to catch up to him.

“He told him to drop the cigarettes, and he did drop the cigarettes,” said Sgt. Patrick Van Ryn.

Police said shortly after that is when he punched the Walgreens employee, and for that, his punishment could be a lot worse, police said.

?It would have been just a simple shoplifting. Once he injured an employee in the course of his theft it turned it into a robbery. Now, he is looking into some really serious jail time if he is convicted on a robbery charge,? said Van Ryn.

Hillegass was later caught.