Man gets stuck in Starbucks ceiling vent, kicks way out through drywall

BURNABY — Customers at a Burnaby Starbucks got quite the caffeine jolt on Saturday when a man who had sneaked into the store’s ceiling vent got stuck and kicked his way through the drywall to escape.

The man apparently entered the Starbucks at Burnaby’s Station Square about 11:30 a.m. Saturday, according to a staff member who spoke to Postmedia but did not want to be identified.

The individual then locked himself into a single-person washroom, unscrewed a covering from a vent and crawled inside.

The Starbucks employee said the man was in there for some time but because there are multiple washrooms, neither customers nor staff noticed the occupied washroom.

“He thought he could stay there until closing — I guess to rob the place,” said the employee, who thinks the man may have also taken a brief nap while waiting it out.

The employee said it would have been hot and dark up in the ceiling where the man was located and that it would have been impossible to return the same way he entered because of the way the vents and gates close.

According to the employee, another staffer first noticed the sound of footsteps coming from the ceiling about 2:15 p.m. Assuming it was building maintenance crews, staff did not investigate further.

About 2:30 p.m., a loud banging sound began to come from a spot inside a wall, originating close to the ceiling at one end of the shop.

The employee said a man then proceeded to kick a hole in the drywall, about 12 feet above the ground and yelled for people to help him. As a manager began to move customers and staff to safety, the man was able to get out from behind the wall, fell to the ground and fled the store.

“He was in the ceiling and he was trying to punch the wall out so he could get out,” said the employee, who said police were called instantly. “He started yelling, ‘Robbery — my girlfriend’s going to kill me.’ ”

The employee said when staff tried to unlock the washroom, they found a backpack had been jammed up against the door and tools they believe had been used to unscrew the vent cover.

Police and paramedics were called to the store and the man was arrested a short distance away, according to the Starbucks employee.

Burnaby RCMP said they were called to the Starbucks just before 3 p.m. on Saturday for the report of a possibly intoxicated man “coming through the roof.” Officers arrested one individual under the Mental Health Act; he was taken to Burnaby General Hospital for treatment.

There will not be any charges recommended.

A request for comment to Starbucks Canada was not immediately returned.