WHEELING - An employee at a dry cleaners successfully fought off a would-be robber Wednesday by using a coffee mug against the man.
According to Wheeling Deputy Police Chief Martin Kimball, a white male entered the Spic & Span Dry Cleaners around 5 p.m., provided the clerk with a name and said he was there to pick up dry cleaning. She turned back to find the man behind the counter claiming he needed money. With his hand in his pocket giving the appearance of a weapon, he told the woman "this is a stick up," Kimball said.
The employee then picked up a pair of scissors in disbelief and successfully forced the man from the building.
The man re-entered the business while the clerk was on the phone with 911. He attempted to take the phone from her, but ultimately fled the scene after the employee struck him several times with a coffee mug.
The man was described at 5 foot 7 inches tall, weighing 200 pounds with a black beard and hair.
Kimball declined to disclose the name the man gave the clerk, but said investigators have a suspect in mind. It is unclear if anyone else was inside the business at the time of the robbery, he added.
