Pullman Police arrested a man after he allegedly tried to steal a grain truck as it unloaded at a local elevator Saturday afternoon on State Street.

A grain truck driver had pulled his semi-trailer into the elevator on State Street Saturday afternoon to unload his cargo when 24-year-old Anthony Henare allegedly attempted to steal the truck, Pullman PD Cmdr. Chris Tennant said.

“The driver left the truck running and the suspect jumped into the open cab and tried to drive away,” Tennant said. “He didn’t know how to drive a semi.”

As Henare was grinding the gears in an attempt to put the truck in drive, the driver tried to remove the keys from the ignition. Henare then punched the driver in the face multiple times and fled the cab before hiding in bushes near a creek a block away where officers found him, Tennant said.

The driver was transported to Pullman Regional Hospital by a private vehicle for treatment and Henare was arrested for first-degree robbery, Tennant said.

“Robbery is basically theft with force,” he said.

Henare admitted to using marijuana and being afraid of people “trying to get him”, and was attempting to steal the truck to escape, Tennant said. Officers reported that Henare appeared under the influence when he was arrested.

The Whitman County Prosecutor’s Office will make the final decision on charges against Henare.