It wasn’t the textbook definition of a “clean getaway” – but it was close enough. 

The suspect was spotted by store personnel, but still managed to get away with the laundry detergent he so desperately craved.

According to an incident report at the Gadsden Police Department, the assistant manager at a store located in the 1400 block of J.R. Countryman Highway, said he was in the process of stocking items, when he noticed a person in a red shirt and jeans stuffing a bag of detergent pods into a backpack about 7:00pm Monday.

He then confronted the man, who said he would pay for the items at the front register, but a few moments later, the assistant manager heard a clerk yelling as the man ran out the door.

He managed to grab the suspect’s backpack in the parking lot, just as he was climbing into a maroon 2006 Pontiac Grand Prix driven by another man; the thief reportedly pulled a knife and told the store employee he would “cut him” unless he left go of the backpack containing $18 worth of stolen goods.

The car then sped away. 

A camera reportedly captured the incident on video and got the tag of the car.

(al.com/www.al.com)