MANCHESTER, NH – Police credit a spunky 7-Eleven clerk with standing up to a would-be robber, using only a broom to chase him off, even as he attempted to grab money from the cash register.
At 1:34 a.m. on Dec. 13 Richard Witmer, a clerk at the 7-Eleven on South Main Street, contacted police after a man allegedly stole two cigarette lighters and attempted to remove cash from the cash register.
Witmer told police he saw the would-be robber, later identified as Jarrod Parolisi, 29, of Pelham, enter store and place two cigarette lighters inside of his pocket before approaching the counter.
Witmer asked Parolisi if he intended to pay for the lighters. Parolisi allagedly told Witmer to turn over cash from the register, but Witmer refused. Parolisi then asked a second time and stated he would shoot Witmer if he did not receive the money from the register, and he made the threat while motioning as if he had a handgun underneath his sweatshirt. Undaunted, Witmer pressed the panic alarm, grabbed a broom and hit Parolisi several times as he made an attempt to reach for the cash register drawer.
Witmer thwarted the robbery attempt and chased Parolisi out of the store, and watched as he got into a red Cadillac bearing Massachusetts plates. Responding officers obtained a description of the vehicle and the suspect. Officer Brianna Miano observed the vehicle a short time later passing Catholic Medical Center on South Main Street.
She conducted a stop and located two men inside the vehicle. The passenger, Jeffrey Tucci, 43, exited the vehicle and was searched for weapons. He was eventually released from the scene after officers determined he had no involvement in the botched robbery attempt.
However the driver was Parolisi, and police arrested him. He is charged with theft by unauthorized taking and robbery. No weapon was located inside of the vehicle. Parolisi will appear in the 9th Circuit Court-Manchester on December 13, 2016.
