A man who tried to rob a jogger in Nanaimo on the weekend got a a quick and painful lesson in what happens when you punch someone who has earned his black belt in karate.
The robbery attempt happened Sunday at about 9:30 a.m. when a 17-year-old male jogger running through Harewood stopped to check his cell phone messages.
"This guy pops out of the bushes and tries to rob him of his phone," said Const. Gary O'Brien, Nanaimo RCMP spokesman.
The suspect demanded the teen hand over his phone and then backed up his demand by punching his intended victim in the face.
The action prompted the jogger, who is also trained in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, to respond with a flurry of four accurately placed punches to the robber's face, finishing off with a hip throw that body slammed the culprit hard to the ground.
The suspect – described as a Caucasian male, 25 to 30 years old, 6'2" with a stocky build, clean shaven and wearing a black hoodie, blue jeans and white running shoes – was last seen hobbling off along Seventh Street toward Howard Avenue.
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.