A baseball bat ended an argument about who had rightful possession of a cash register during a robbery attempt Thursday.
A man carrying a knife entered the Super Save Gas convenience store at 450 Wakesiah Ave., just before closing time at about 10:30 p.m., and demanded cash and cigarettes and then tried to grab the cash register, triggering a confrontation between him and the clerk.
The clerk ended the dispute when he grabbed a baseball bat and whacked the right forearm of the suspect, who fled out of the store and down an alley with the clerk in pursuit until the clerk lost sight of him and called 911.
Police responded and couldn't find the suspect, but a police service dog sniffed a trail along an adjacent street until it lost the scent, leaving investigators to review the store's security camera footage for clues to the identity of the suspect, described as Caucasian, 25-30, and wearing a grey hoodie, black track pants with stripes on the legs, a black Dragon brand toque with a red emblem on the front, large dark sunglasses. He was carrying a hunting knife with a wooden handle.
Anyone with information about this incident is asked to call Nanaimo RCMP at 250-754-2345 or contact Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 or online at www.nanaimocrimestoppers.com.