Victim Helps Tulsa Police Track Down Alleged QuikTrip Robber

Tulsa Police are giving a big pat on the back to a man who was robbed at work. Robbery detectives tell us the victim basically solved his own case, and now a suspect is sitting in jail.

That victim went to a website that has mug shots on it and started looking at pictures, hoping to find the guy who robbed him. He didn't stop after he looked at 500 pictures or a 1,000 or even 3,000. 

He looked at 4,171 pictures before he found him and then, he called the cops.

The robbery happened last Tuesday around 1:30 a.m. at the QuikTrip store near 31st and Garnett. Surveillance video shows two men come inside, and one goes behind the counter with the employee. Both had parts of their faces covered, and one grabbed the clerk and shoved him and cussed at him and said, "give us all the money you have in the cash register."

He also put his hand up to the clerk's neck, like he had a weapon. They got less than $100 and some cigarettes and left.

11/11/2014 Related Story: Two Men Use Choke Hold To Rob Tulsa Convenience Store

Police say the clerk was smart to do as he was told.

"Everything you could possibly lose is replaceable but if you lose your life, obviously, that's not coming back," said Sergeant Brandon Watkins, TPD Robbery Division.

Police say the clerk was sure the man who robbed him was a regular customer, so that's when he started going through old mug shots online and lots of them. Normally, victims don't make good eye witnesses, but the clerk was sure he'd seen the guy several times before.

"Often, people are not a good witness because they're wound up, their vision and breathing are distorted, but this guy kept his calm and did what he was supposed to do and was a great victim afterward," Watkins said.

The clerk called police with the name, and after they got additional evidence, they arrested John Bluejacket, who admitted he frequented that Quik Trip several times a week. When they asked about the robbery, he asked for a lawyer.

Records show he was sentenced to five years in prison in 2012. He served less than two years and got out last year.

Here's some good news as we start the holiday shopping season, robberies in Tulsa are down 7 percent right now over last year and even better, arrests up are 14 percent.