A New Hampshire man is facing a robbery charge after he allegedly threw hot coffee at a convenience store clerk in Manchester and then proceeded to rob the establishment.
Manchester police said they responded to Bunny's Convenience on Elm Street shortly after 7:30 a.m. Tuesday for a holdup alarm.
The clerk, Melodie Cameron, says the robber was wearing a mask when he came up to the register to buy cigarettes.
"I asked for identification, and once he couldn't provide it, he moved aside so I could take the last lady in the store, and when I took the lady, he went back over to the counter," Cameron recalled in an interview with NBC10 Boston. It was kind of odd to me, because he was kind of playing with the lid of his coffee cup."
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She says the man then tried to buy a lighter, still without showing ID.
"I don't know, the last word I had said to him must have just been the trigger, and he pulled that cup and threw it up under [the divider] at my face," Cameron said.
Cameron said while the hot coffee was in her eyes, the man ran around the counter, demanding cash from the register.
"He said, 'Open the drawer, give me the money. That's it, give me the money and don't say anything,'" Cameron said.
By reviewing video surveillance from the store and other locations in the area, police said they were able to track the man back to an address on Market Street. He was arrested when he exited the building and identified as 32-year-old Brandon Ross of Manchester.
He was taken to the Manchester Police Department and charged with robbery. No bail or arraignment details were released by police.
"My mind is going through yesterday morning, like, over and over and over again, because I just have to wonder, was it premeditated or was it not?" Cameron said. "Did he come in masked up for a reason, or did he get pissed off about the cigarettes?"
Manchester police said their investigation into the robbery is ongoing, and asked anyone with information to call 603-668-8711 or 603-624-4040.
