Apr 13, 2013 2 min read

East Bethlehem Township police are looking for the robber who held up a Fredericktown beer distributorship at knifepoint just before closing Thursday night.

The robber was carrying a knife with about a 6-inch blade when he walked into the Fredericktown Beer Distributor, Front Street, about 8:50 p.m. as the clerk was cashing out the register to balance it, said township police Chief Mark Pompe.

“The robber walked right up next to him, so he closed the register and refused to open it,” Pompe said of the clerk, “He took the money from the lottery machine. He also tried to open the cash register, but couldn’t.”

The clerk walked to the back of the store, and the robber ran out of the building, turning right. Pompe said he ran along the right side of the building and then to the bank.

Pompe and his K-9, Thor, were able to track the robber behind the beer distributor, through the park to Strawberry Street where he might have got into a waiting vehicle, Pompe said.

Merchants in the area were given a surveillance photo of the suspect. Pompe also will get a search warrant to obtain surveillance video from outside the bank.

The robber was a wearing a long-sleeved blue shirt with white patches on the shoulder and a white patch on the back, orange ski mask covering his face and blue jeans. He was 5-feet 9-inches to 6-feet tall and weighed about 160 pounds.

Anyone with information is asked to call township police at 724-377-1851.