Deputy potentially thwarts robbery at Hazel Dell coffee shop

A Clark County sheriff’s deputy who stopped for coffee before his shift potentially thwarted a robbery at the Hazel Dell business.

When Deputy Scott Bain stopped at Revive Espresso & Tea, 610 N.E. 99th St., at 5:45 a.m. on April 10, he noticed a man hiding in bushes near the business, said Sgt. Fred Neiman.

Neiman said Bain noticed “the individual appeared to be intently watching the early morning activity of the coffee house.”

Aware of several recent coffee shop robberies, Bain confronted the man.

The man, identified as Clifford Brown, 54, of Vancouver, told Bain that he was just waiting for a friend. However, Bain learned that there was an active warrant for Brown’s arrest, took him into custody and booked him in the Clark County Jail.

Whether or not Brown intended to rob the coffee shop, Neiman said, is hard to say.

“What is certain is that good police work results when patrol officers practice good situational awareness habits and act on their suspicions to interdict suspected criminal activity when it’s encountered,” he said.