East Skyline Drive
Jan. 9, 9:39 p.m.
A posh-looking group of foothills-area youth went out for sushi in a luxury automobile at an upscale mall, then quickly went from sumptuous to "street" in a desperate attempt to escape apprehension after trying to skip out on their bill, according to a Pima County Sheriff's Department report.
Sheriff's deputies responded to RA Sushi Bar & Japanese Restaurant at the Encantada Shopping Center, 2905 E. Skyline Drive, where staff said a group of two females and one male dressed in black-and-white formalwear—in their late teens and early 20s—had driven to the establishment in a late-model black Audi sedan for dinner. After consuming order after order of sushi, they tried to casually walk out without paying, and almost succeeded—apparently thanks to their unsuspiciously affluent appearance—with one employee reporting he bid them a "good night" as they strolled out the door.
But when the youths immediately started sprinting for the parking lot, this staff member said, he reflexively pursued them (against restaurant policy) and caught one of the young ladies in a "bear hug," at which point the other female stopped too and started a huge scene, screaming at him at the top of her lungs for grabbing her companion.
Meanwhile the male reportedly started an aggressive confrontation with the waiter who'd actually served them—who'd come outside after hearing the ruckus—threatening "to kick (the waiter's) ass" before continuing his flight through the parking lot, yelling that he was "going to get his strap" from their opulent automobile.
The server said when the young man arrived at the Audi, he ripped off its license plate, got in and "peel(ed) through the parking lot," almost running over their waiter. The females got into the car and it sped away.
At the time of the report, the dapper delinquents had not been caught. At least the server who'd caught one of the females had managed to confiscate the money she had in her purse, $49 in cash, which was more than half of their bill of $80.21 (though this didn't include tips).
