William Haramic

A planned robbery Sunday afternoon at a Butler store didn't go well for a homeless man, city police said.

First, the clerk at the Marathon gas station on South Main Street refused — twice — his demands that she turn over money.

Then, it didn't take police long to find him, He was sitting — and sweating — next to the Butler County Courthouse on West Diamond Street.

William J. Haramic, 25, was arrested and later arraigned on a felony charge of robbery. He is in the Butler County Prison $20,000 bail.

Police were called about 4:30 p.m. to the store for a reported robbery. The clerk, who was crying and appeared “frantic,” police said, told officers that the suspect had just left.

She recounted that he came in and claimed to have a gun. He demanded money from her.

Officers immediately started looking for the robber, who was described as being white, heavyset and wearing a gray hooded sweatshirt and gray shorts.

They didn't have to look far before they came upon Haramic, who was “sweating and nervously shaking,” beside the courthouse, according to court documents.

He was searched for weapons but none were found. He gave police his name and other personal information.

Police said he also made an unsolicited statement: “I am sorry. I am sorry for robbing that store.”

The clerk subsequently identified Haramic as the alleged robber.

The defendant at the police station provided a recorded confession, documents said.

He said he walked to the store after being dropped off in the city earlier that day, according to a police affidavit, and “rolled his wallet so it would look like a barrel of a gun in his left pocket.”

He demanded money from the clerk. She said, “No.” He ordered her a second time, police said, but in return he got the same answer.

He left, empty-handed, when she told him she was calling the police.