Robbery try thwarted
Butler police arrested a knife-wielding robber who made off with a pack of cigarettes from a downtown convenience store.
But the suspect, 49-year-old Joseph C. Brothers, was hoping for a bigger take in the Saturday morning holdup at the E-Z Stop on North Main Street.
He was thwarted by a 73-year-old clerk, who refused to give into his demand to turn over money in the cash register, police said, and by a postal delivery man who interrupted the suspected crime.
Brothers, who has no known address, is being held in the Butler County Prison on $50,000 bail. He is charged with robbery and terroristic threats.
The clerk told police that the robber walked into the store about 10:50 p.m. and began browsing. He went to the counter with a bottle of pop.
A customer, however, came in and the suspect momentarily walked away, police said, apparently under the guise of shopping.
When the customer left, the man again appeared at the counter, this time with a bag of Doritos. He also asked the clerk for two packs of cigarettes.
The employee placed the cigarettes on the counter and the suspect pulled a fixed-blade knife from his pocket, said police Lt. Chad Rensel.
He told the woman to give him the money in the register. She refused.
About that time, a U.S. Postal Service driver walked in, Rensel said, and scared off the robber, who managed to take one of the cigarette packs before running out the door.
No one was injured. Officers searched for but could not find the suspect.
Police reviewed the surveillance video, which they say “corroborated” the clerk's account. About 30 minutes later, photos of the robber were posted on the department's Facebook page.
“Within an hour of the posting,” Rensel said, “we got messages identifying Brothers.”
Investigators later got more help from a police informant, who provided a tip where to find the defendant. Police about 3 p.m. found him at an acquaintance's home on the 300 block of West North Street.
Brothers gave police a statement, Rensel said, during which he admitted to the crime.
