A man paid for a meal at an Oklahoma Waffle House and even tipped the waitress before he allegedly robbed the restaurant, according to police.
The Tulsa Police Department (TPD) said officers were alerted to reports of an armed robbery at the Waffle House on 11th Street at Highway 169 on Saturday, February 25.
While officers were en route, they spotted the suspect, later identified as Victor DonJuan Medina, as he ran southbound along a retaining wall along the highway.
In a Monday Facebook post, a TPD spokesperson said Medina was arrested shortly afterward.
It continued: "Officers took Medina into custody and recovered a gun he was carrying. Through the investigation, officers learned Medina ate at the Waffle House before the robbery.
"He paid for his meal and even tipped the waitress, then decided to commit a robbery. Witnesses said Medina pulled a gun on an employee, demanded cash from the register, then ran out."
Medina, who has a tattoo of a black love heart on his right cheek, was later charged with robbery with a firearm.
According to the Hunsucker Legal Group, Oklahoma law distinguishes between property crimes and crimes against a person.
It added that armed robbery "is attempted or successful robbery of a victim using a dangerous [Item].
"You can be charged with armed robbery even if you used a toy gun or unloaded firearm. This is a felony offense punishable by a minimum of five years in prison."
The Law Offices of Adam R. Banner P.C. stated: "So long as the weapon is capable of raising in the mind of the victim the possibility that the firearm is real, the perpetrator will likely face armed robbery charges."
It added robbery is an "85 percent crime," which means that anyone convicted is required to serve 85 percent of the sentence imposed prior to becoming eligible for parole or earned credits that can lower the amount of time an inmate will spend in prison.
The Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation said in 2021 there were 151,583 property crimes reported by law enforcement across the Sooner State.
Its crime statistics said there were 1,752 robberies across Oklahoma that year, making up 1.2 percent of all crimes against property.
Of those 473 were robberies committed against a commercial business, which made up 27.9 percent of the total.
The state bureau added that 357 out of the 427 people arrested for robbery in 2021 were male.
Newsweek has contacted the TPD for comment.
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