"Can you empty that till for me, please?"

As the owner of a Shell gas station, John Henry has been robbed before. But he never expected a theft like this. The thief kept apologizing while holding up the gas station in White Center, and all of it was captured by surveillance cameras. Everything seemed normal enough when the mild-mannered thief walked into the store, forking over $1.30 for a cup of coffee. But then came the twist. Thief: "Now if you'd do me a favor." Clerk: "Yes." Thief: "Can you empty that till for me, please? Put it right here." Clerk: "What do you mean?" Thief: "Put the till right here. I'm robbing you." Clerk: "You sure?" Thief: "Yes, I'm sure." Working behind the counter was Henry, the owner of the Shell station. The man, Henry said, was as polite as possible but brandishing what looked to be a real handgun. He told Henry he had to do this for his children. Thief: "I'm really sorry to have to do this, but I've got kids." Clerk: "How about if I give you $40 and this is it?" Thief: "Well, I can't do that, sir. I've got rent to pay. I've got bills, and the kids need to eat." Henry handed over $300 in cash, genuinely believing the thief desperately needed money, but highly skeptical for what reason. "He told that me he needed the money for his kids, and he looked like 65 years old," Henry said. "It's not true, because if you're 65 years old, you are not going to have kids." The robbery took place around 11:30 a.m. Saturday. The man did nothing to conceal his identity, and his every move was captured by the 14 surveillance cameras installed inside and outside the gas station. Before he calmly walked away, he made Henry a promise: "Thank you very much, I really appreciate it. And I'm sorry. And if I ever get back on my feet again, sir, I'll bring it back." Detectives arrested a suspect in the case on Monday after Henry made an identification in a photo lineup. The 65-year-old man was captured in the Top Hat area.