Bewildered bandit.

Shortly before midnight on June 23, two men and a woman in a vehicle with California license plates pulled into a Fuel-N-Go gas station in Coburg, Oregon. One of the men went into the store, pretended to have a gun, and demanded money from the female clerk. Even though the unidentified clerk handed over about $200 in cash, the robber threatened to kill her. However, when the clerk pulled a real handgun, the robber bad second thoughts and opted instead to flee.

As the thug ran from the store, a male attendant grabbed him and began wrestling with him. When the clerk intervened and fired a shot through the back window of the waiting getaway car, the frustrated thief broke free and dove into the auto, which sped away as bills from the robbery fluttered to the ground.

Meanwhile, a truck driver who witnessed the commotion had called police. A Coburg police canine unit, Oregon state police, and Lane County sheriff's deputies began looking for the bullet-scarred car. They soon arrested the suspects, who surrendered without incident when confronted by the police dog. William Etheridge III and Robert Cousineau, both transients, were arrested and charged with first-degree robbery, as was Clarissa Gaylord of Yreka, California.

The male store attendant suffered a few cuts and bruises during his tussle with the bandit. The armed female clerk was not injured.