PORTLAND, Ore. -- A man who robbed a northeast Portland car wash is on the loose and police are asking for the public’s help apprehending him.

Police said a masked man robbed the Washman Carwash on NE 81st Avenue Saturday morning, Dec. 13, but his gun fell apart in the middle of the heist.

Surveillance cameras caught the bungled robbery on tape.

The suspect approached Washman employee Chris Truax, who was dressed that day as Santa Claus, at about 10:45 a.m. The robber then pulled a gun from underneath his sweatshirt and demanded money.

He then dropped his gun and it fell apart, police said.

“Right when he pulled it out the top piece of the gun came off and you could see an exposed spring, white plastic, so I knew it wasn’t a real gun,” Truax said.

The suspect began waving his fist, demanding money, and Truax opened up the cash register, fearful the robber may have a real weapon, Washman manager David Tarlow said.

But as the suspect reached for money Truax grabbed the closest defense weapon he could find, a power washer, and sprayed the robber in the face.

“I knew that pressure washer had about 2,000 (pounds square inch of pressure) so I knew it would hurt,” Truax said. “I got him right in the nose.”

The soggy suspect fled on foot and made a clean getaway westbound down NE Everett Street.

“I thought it was a pretty quick reaction to use the pressure washer as a weapon,” Tarlow said. 

The manager added Washman employees weren’t encouraged to take such risks; nevertheless, he was proud of Truax’s quick reaction.

The suspect was described by police as a white male in his 20s, about 6’ tall, weighing 180 pounds and wearing a black hooded sweatshirt with a white “skeleton” ski mask.

The employee described the man as having “unusually long arms” and dark eyes.

Police said the man should be considered armed and dangerous.

Crime Stoppers offered a $1,000 cash reward for information leading to an arrest in the case.

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