Olympia man allegedly reached for knife after caught stealing at grocery store

Two charges were filed against an Olympia man after he allegedly reached for a knife in his pocket when officers caught him attempting to steal from a grocery store.

Bradley Christopher Caddy, 36, was charged with first-degree burglary while armed with a deadly weapon and third-degree theft by the Thurston County Prosecuting Attorney on January 10.

Olympia police arrested the suspect at around 9 p.m. on January 5 after the store manager for Safeway on Harrison Avenue NW reported a suspicious individual, later identified as Caddy.

“I witnessed the subject conceal several cleaning products in a large blue Ross bag he had brought in,” the manager wrote in a witness statement. “I called OPD, at which point I noticed a large knife in his front right pocket.”

Caddy attempted to take over $100 worth of products including ice cream, shampoo, and air fresheners, according to the police report.

Two officers arrived at the scene and approached the suspect. Caddy immediately began walking away from police when he saw them, the police report stated.

The suspect attempted to pull the entrance/exit door open multiple times, but was unsuccessful because the store had been locked for the day, police said. The suspect “was attempting to flee the store.”

Caddy then walked away again from the officers. When they tried to approach him, the suspect “immediately began reaching for a knife that was sticking out of his right front pocket,” one officer said.

One of the officers identified the knife from its silver and black handle as a Buck knife, it was semi-concealed, with the handle partly sticking out of his pants pocket.

According to one officer, Caddy approached the other officer, reaching and grabbing the knife’s handle with his right hand, and attempted to pull it out of his pocket. Then the officer that was not being approached had drawn his duty handgun out of its holster and yelled at Caddy to remove his hand from the knife or that he would shoot him. The suspect yielded, and he was arrested without incident.

Caddy admitted to police that he hid the items in his bag, but said he did not steal anything because he did not leave the store. He also said he had no money to pay for the items that he took.

The suspect added that he did not intend on hurting anyone and that he planned to drop everything when he saw the police.

The store manager positively identified Caddy as the person who concealed several products. A knife in a sheath and a folding pocketknife were recovered from the suspect.

Police later confirmed that a trespass warning was previously served against Caddy last December, preventing him from being at the Harrison Avenue Safeway until December 22, 2023.

The suspect was booked into the Thurston County Jail for first-degree burglary.