Original Blog Entry: Barber robs store over bad beef jerky

truesee — Sat, 22 Aug 2009 22:50:31 GMT

Bad beef jerky led irate customer to rob Cleveland party store, police say

Mark Puente

Plain Dealer Reporter

August 21, 2009 20:38PM

Police say some bad beef jerky upset a Cleveland barber so much that he decided to get revenge by robbing the store where he bought it -- even though it's two doors down from his barbershop.

The barber, who is 6 feet 3 inches, covered his mouth with a small cloth, walked into the party store in the 4700 block of Broadview Road in the Old Brooklyn neighborhood Thursday evening and demanded money, police said.

The store owner feared the robber had a gun.

Then he recognized the barber and told him so. The barber became irate, grabbed the cash register and sprinted outside, police said.

The store owner chased the barber with a baseball bat and caught him at a parked car. The owner called police as the barber got away. The officer who arrived first knew the barber too -- the barber cuts the officer's hair.

Detectives went to the barber's Brunswick house, which is right next to the police station. Police found him at his girlfriend's house a few miles away and arrested him. Police said $98 was taken.

The barber told police he took the money and bought a pizza in Little Italy. They asked the barber why he robbed the party store. His answer puzzled the longtime officers.

He bought a beef stick, and it got him and his dog sick, Sgt. Tom Shoulders said, laughing. That's why he robbed the place. He said it with a straight face.

The barber, 28, has not been charged but is in City Jail on suspicion of aggravated robbery. The status of the dog is unknown.

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