A friend of a drinking buddy is accused of robbing a city man of his wallet Tuesday night, Butler police said.

Minutes later, police arrested the suspect, Anthony M. Kovocovsky, 45, of Butler, who is jailed on charges of robbery, theft and receiving stolen property.

Investigators said Gilmore Hilliard Jr., 45, called authorities at 7:45 p.m. to report the crime at his Zeigler Avenue apartment, where he was drinking with two friends. The defendant had accompanied one of those friends.

Hilliard told police the suspect grabbed his wallet chain and yanked; the suspect broke the chain, took the wallet and ran out of the apartment.

Hilliard's friends both knew Kovocovsky, and corroborated the victim's account, according to a police report. All three said the defendant was wearing an orange bandanna.

Police said Hilliard claimed he had $400 in his wallet. Among the currency was at least a $100 bill.

A neighbor sitting on her porch saw the suspect take off the bandanna and run into a wooded area between Zeigler Avenue and Father Marinaro Park.

Another call at 7:53 p.m., sent officers about four blocks away to a Maple Avenue house, where they found Kovocovsky.

Police said the defendant's younger brother, who also was there, told officers that Kovocovsky moments ago had arrived at the home and asked him to make change for a $100 bill.

Officers searched Kovocovsky and found him with $130 and an orange bandanna, the police report said.

Police drove Hilliard and his two friends to Maple Avenue, where they later identified the defendant as the alleged robber.

The stolen wallet — minus any currency — later turned up in the yard near Hilliard's home.

Kovocovsky, while being taken to the police station, claimed Hilliard had given him the money for a purchase.

When officers told the defendant they didn't believe him, the police report said, he "began talking in circles."

Kovocovsky is being held in the Butler County Prison on $5,000 bail.