Police: 'Polite Robber' Gregory Paul Hess Has Criminal Record

The so-called "polite robber" is really, really sorry.

That's according to police, anyway, who say the man caught on video apologizing profusely while allegedly holding up a Seattle convenience store is a convicted felon with a long criminal record that includes armed robbery and forgery.

Gregory Paul Hess, 65, whose identity was confirmed to AOL News by Police Sgt. John Urquhart of the King County Sheriff's office, allegedly decided that robbing a store at gunpoint was no reason to forget his manners. Security cameras show the man walking into a Shell convenience store in Seattle on Saturday before sheepishly explaining to John Henry, the store's owner, that he would be robbing him.

"Can you do me a favor, sir?" Hess can be heard asking as Henry opens the cash register. "Could you empty that till for me, put it right here?"

At first, Henry seems confused. "What do you mean?" he asks on a tape first obtained by KING5 in Seattle. But then the bashful robber pulls a gun. "Empty that till for me, put it right here," the man says. "I'm robbing you, sir."

Henry, who says he has been robbed four times in recent years, tried to talk the man out of the heist and can be heard on tape offering to give him $40 to help him out. But Hess persists, apologizing as he demands that Henry hand over the rest of the cash.

"I really am sorry to have to do this," he says. "I've got rent to pay. I've got bills. And the kids need to eat."

Hess didn't take off without a thank-you, though. "Thank you very much, I appreciate it," he says after allegedly robbing Henry of about $300. "I really am sorry, and if I ever get back on my feet again, sir, I'll bring it back."

Then Henry is heard telling Hess he's sorry he has fallen onto hard times. "I'm sorry. God be with you, man."

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Police: 'Polite Robber' Has Criminal Record

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