MANOR TOWNSHIP, Pa. — A man who authorities had considered “armed and dangerous” following a robbery at a convenience store in Armstrong County early Friday morning actually used a toy gun, police said.
In less than 12 hours after a Sheetz in Manor Township was robbed at gunpoint, authorities tracked down the suspect, Michael Zilla, in an apartment on Ford Street in Ford City. He was interviewed by police and arraigned just a few hours later.
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"We were running down different leads. We had really good video from the Sheetz store so we had a suspect’s vehicle right off the bat,” State Police Lt. Thomas Dubovi said.
Surveillance pictures of the suspect were posted by police allegedly showing Zilla wearing a camouflage jacket, blue jeans and a painted face.
Authorities said the footage also showed Zilla pointing what appeared to be a sawed-off shotgun at the clerk.
"The clerk was like, ‘What do you mean?’ And he finally says, ‘I want your money.’ He had what appears to be a sawed off-shotgun, and it ends up being a toy sawed-off shotgun, so it wasn't even real,” Dubovi said.
Meanwhile, Zilla told the arraigning judge and investigators that he was forced into robbing the store. He said a man held him at gunpoint and threatened to kill his dogs and his family if he didn't come back with cash.
Zilla allegedly got away with about $400.
He’s currently in jail in lieu of a $75,000 bail. He’s expected to be back in court next week.
WPXI
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