(AFP)–10 hours ago WASHINGTON — A repentant robber fell to his knees and prayed withthe clerk of the store during a hold-up, according to US mediaWednesday, which said the man nevertheless proceeded to pinch 20dollars from the cash register. The 23-year-old initially enteredthe check-cashing establishment in the midwestern city of Indianapolis,Indiana seeking a loan but left, purportedly to get an identificationcard that was requested, law enforcement officials told ABC television. Hereturned armed with a gun, which he pointed at the employee, tellingher that he had a son to feed and "no choice" but to revert to robberysince "times are hard," according to the report of the heist. Butwhen the clerk started to talk to the man about God, the gunmanappeared to have a change of heart, confiding in the clerk about hishardships and asking her to pray with him. "I started crying andpraying and telling him, 'Don't do this,' he was too young to throwaway his life," store clerk Angela Montez later told a policedispatcher by phone. "He took the bullet out of the gun and said, 'Here, I'm not going to hurt you, I'm not going to hurt you,'" Montez said. Thesuspect, Gregory Smith, asked Montez for a hug and asked her not toreport the crime, then told her to go into the store's restroom and notcome out for 20 minutes, police told ABC. Officials said Smithtook Montez's cell phone from her purse and 20 dollars from the cashdrawer, leaving the rest of the money behind. He was arrested on robbery and firearm charges when he turned himself in to authorities a few hours later. http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5ikZ5T0v8lsIrnFiNzgDMs2wQR0dQ |