Would-Be Robber Left Bruised After Gas Station Clerk Knocks Him Out: Cops

This would-be robber got more than he bargained for.

A convenience store clerk decked a would-be robber who brandished a box cutter and tried to jump over the counter, police said.

Andre Young, 52, was knocked out with a single punch from an Ohio gas station cashier.

“He’s still in here,” the employee told a 911 operator. “I had to knock him out. You need to get a trooper here now, because he’s in here, he in here all [expletive] up.”

The suspect was unconscious when police arrived, authorities said.

He had approached the counter carrying a can of beer, but instead of handing over money for the beverage, he flashed a box cutter and said, “We can do this the easy way or the hard way,” said David Wood of the Hamilton County prosecutor’s office, WLWT-TV reported Tuesday.

Apparently, the clerk preferred the hard way, running around the counter, clocking Young and grabbing the blade from Young’s hand, police said.

Young hobbled into court Tuesday on crutches and sporting a severely bruised eye. He is being held on $175,000 bail and is charged with aggravated armed robbery and assault, authorities said.

He has not entered a plea.

He was first taken to a hospital for treatment, where he told police he was holding the blade because he wanted to cut something off his shirt, authorities said.

He later blamed his actions on being drunk, Wood said.

Police said he was convicted in 2005 of robbing the same store with a baseball bat.

He has five prior felony convictions on robbery charges, Wood said.