He set the candy on the counter - and pulled out a pistol

An armed robber held a cashier at gunpoint and stole about $60 from the Parker’s on Ribaut Road in Port Royal late Sunday.

The suspect, a black male approximately 5-foot-7 or 5-foot-8 and 160 to 180 pounds, put a bag of candy on the counter as if to payjust before midnight and then grabbed the cashier, held a black semi-automatic pistol to her left side and demanded “all the money in the register,” according to a Port Royal Police Department report. The man was wearing a yellow or blue hat with a pom-pom on top and a brown jacket.

The clerk had a hard time opening the register, according to the report. Once it was open, the man grabbed cash and ran out of the store. A witness saw him get on a “dark, BMX-style bicycle which looked small for him” and head down Paris Avenue.

Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office came to the scene with a dog around 12:20 a.m. on Monday, but was unable to find the suspect after about 30 minutes, according to a sheriff’s office report.

This story was originally published December 8, 2016 at 9:22 AM with the headline "He set the candy on the counter - and pulled out a pistol."