Have things in America really gotten so bad that common street hoods can't even afford a decent robbery weapon anymore? Seems that way, as cops in New York state say that a 31-year-old man there was forced to resort to cutting a big switch off a tree last week before he tried to pull a stick-up job at the local 7-Eleven (link to full story at bottom).Maybe Michael Zimmerman's (pictured above) credit has also been recently downgraded, since he was allegedly so down on his luck that the best weapon he could muster up for a convenience store owl job was the aforementioned tree appendage. And he allegedly needed it too:
Cops say Zimmerman hit the joint just before midnight -- armed only with a "large tree branch" -- and demanded money from the clerk. When the clerk played hero and refused the request, Zimmerman allegedly took to beating the clerk about the head, neck and breast with his giant piece of wood!
After the alleged big-branch beat-down, cops say Zimmerman tried to blow the scene on a getaway motorcycle. Only problem, apparently: Being armed with nothing other than a big tree arm doesn't exactly strike a ton of fear in the hearts of Joe and Jane Passing Good Samaritan:
Cops say that as Zimmerman tried to scurry away, a small band of store customers (plus the clerk) gave chase. Then an off-duty cop reportedly entered the fray and managed to block and hold Zimmerman until other cops could arrive.
Now Zimmerman may have to break his next bough in the Black Hole, since he faces a charge of attempted first degree robbery. And the lumber work ain't nearly so lucrative down in the ol' calaboose, where I hear the going rate in the wood shop is running around 50 cents a day.
http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2011/08/05/police-ronkonkoma-man-robbed-7-eleven-using-tree-branch/
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