High Class Criminal

Another winner from the Dairy State:

A 37-year-old Hartford man who police say robbed a gas station Tuesday and then tried to get away dressed only in his underwear -- with the stolen loot and a pack of cigarettes stuffed inside -- is expected to be charged today with armed robbery, Washington County District Attorney Todd Martens said.

According to Hartford police, the man, wearing a pair of blue coveralls, robbed the West Auto Mart at 529 W. Sumner St. just before 10 a.m. Tuesday after he purchased a pack of cigarettes. He waited until the cashier opened the cash drawer then displayed a handgun and took cash from the register.

Shortly after police arrived, Hartford Fire Chief Paul Stephans reported he saw a man exit a nearby bike path riding a bicycle and wearing only a pair of underwear.

When police made contact with the man, they noticed a wad of $412 concealed in his underwear, along with his empty wallet and an unopened pack of cigarettes, the police statement said. The amount of money was the same as that stolen from the gas station.

Police searched the bike path between where the man was found and the gas station and found the pair of blue coveralls, which they determined to be a uniform from the place where the man worked. They also found a facsimile handgun.

The man told police he had been robbed of his clothing, but that the robber did not want the money or the cigarettes. He described the man as looking a lot like him and wearing the same clothes as him.

The man was identified as the robber from videotape taken at the gas station, the police statement says.

Martens said the man is in custody at the Washington County Jail and is expected to appear in Washington County Circuit Court later today.