Homeless man attempts to rob convenience store with water pistol — New Orleans, LA

A homeless man who cleaned a Slidell convenience store wanted more than his regular pay Monday: Authorities said he stuck a purple water pistol into the clerk’s back and demanded the money in the register.
The clerk pushed him out of the store and yelled to a customer pumping gas that the man had tried to rob her, Slidell police said. The customer followed the man while the clerk dialed 911. Police caught up with the homeless man as he walked behind the nearby Southside Cafe and after a brief struggle took him into custody.
Lazaro Gonzalez, 64, was booked with armed robbery, simple battery and resisting an officer. He remained in custody Tuesday and was to be transported to the St. Tammany Parish jail where bond will be set, the Slidell Police Department said in a news release.
The clerk at the Shell Gas Station at 3296 Pontchartrain Drive notified police of the incident around 10:20 a.m. Monday. The woman told officers that Gonzalez often does cleaning at the store, for which he is paid.
But while she retrieved his money on Monday, the clerk told officers that she felt Gonzalez stick something in her back. Thinking he was kidding, the clerk turned and saw what she described to officers as a purple water pistol in his hand, police said. At that point she pushed him out of the store without giving him any money.
Officers found the water pistol in a nearby dumpster, the release said.
http://www.nola.com/crime/index.ssf/2012/05/homeless_man_tries_to_rob_slid.html#incart_river