Capitol Hill bathhouse again targeted in armed robbery

Capitol Hill men's bathhouse Steamworks has again been targeted in an armed hold-up, CHS has learned. According to an SPD report on the incident, a man made off with an undisclosed amount of cash after entering the Summit Ave business late Tuesday afternoon and threatening the person working at the entrance to the bathhouse with a handgun.

The worker told police a black male in his 40s wearing a black hoodie pulled tight and a black bandana with a white design covering a portion of his face entered the building in the 1500 block of Summit Ave just after 3:30 PM Tuesday. 

The robber is said to presented a grey duffel bag and pointed a black, semi-automatic pistol at the man working behind the glass window of the Steamworks front counter. The suspect then demanded cash and said "I'll shoot you if you leave," the victim told police.

As the worker was getting cash to hand over, the suspect became angry and demanded the worker hurry up. The suspect began banging on the glass until it broke, according to the SPD report.

The victim said he then handed over the cash and watched the suspect leave on foot before calling 911. The SPD officer arrived within one minute of the call but the suspect was not found in the are and no fingerprints were recovered from the scene. SPD also looked for any signs of blood from the broken glass but none was found. Video footage from the entrance security system was not immediately available but could yield more information about the suspect who is believed to possibly have been involved with another robbery at the bathhouse in late 2010, SPD tells CHS.

In early December, a man also wearing a dark hoodie entered Steamworks and made off with cash. In that robbery, the suspect sprayed the employee with pepper spray.