Robber of Restaurant Used Bug Spray as Weapon
Oregon police are looking for a man who robbed a local restaurant by using bug spray.
According to local authorities, the bug spraying robber came into Elmer's, a local diner, on Monday while wearing a blonde wig, a white beanie and a green sweatshirt with gloves around 12:00 a.m., and then proceeded to spray bug repellant in a bartender's face, as reported by the Associated Press reported.
Local reports indicate that as the robber approached the bartender and demanded money the bartender tried to hit the can of bug spray away from the robber, but instead was sprayed directly in the face.
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While the bartender was incapacitated the robber was able to gain access to the cash register and flee with an undisclosed amount of cash from the till of the Roseburg eatery.
Sgt. Aaron Dunbar of the Roseburg police stated that bug spray is not a common weapon used by many criminals.
"This is an extremely unusual case. We've had robberies in the past, but the idea of using bug spray as a weapon is a first," he told KPIC.
Police are urging people with any information to call the Roseburg Police Department's tip line at (541) 492-6794.
Sadly, this is not the first time a robber has used pesticide in an effort to rob a business establishment.
In November 2011, a man who robbed a bank in Rancho Santa Fe, Calif., armed with a pesticide sprayer walked into a local bank posing as an exterminator.
The robber had a bug spraying device and was wearing a yellow rain jacket with a dust mask, making the thief appear to be an exterminator doing his job.
He then proceeded to the teller at the Pacific Western Bank, displayed a semi-automatic handgun and demanded money, according to an FBI press release. He then was able to flee with an undisclosed sum of cash.
