Did this crook pick on the wrong old man or what?

Man fights off intruder in barbershop
By ERIN CUNNINGHAM
April 15, 2009
erinc@herald-mail.com
HAGERSTOWN — Staring at the wrong end of an 8-inch blade, Leonard W. Cooper fought off an intruder Wednesday by picking him up and throwing him through a glass door.

Cooper, who has worked at Just Us Hair Styles, a barbershop at 206 N. Jonathan St., for 22 years, said he was reading the Bible when a man walked in demanding money at about 11:30 a.m.

The man, who was wearing a hood, raised a knife and pointed it toward Leonard, 69, who was alone in the shop at the time.

“I had the Bible in my hands (when the man came in),” Leonard said. “So, I put it down. He said, ‘I’m not playing with you man.’”

No money was taken during the attempted robbery.

Leonard suffered minor cuts in the incident and was treated and released from Washington County Hospital.

Police said Wednesday night they were still looking for the intruder.

Leonard, of Hagerstown, said he thought the attempted robbery was a joke at first, until he emptied his pockets and showed the intruder there was no money inside. The man then reached in Leonard’s pocket to see for himself.

When the man put his hand into Leonard’s pocket, Leonard reached up and grabbed the knife in one hand. He grabbed the intruder’s other hand with his second hand.

Leonard said the two struggled inside the shop for about five minutes, until he realized the intruder was not going to let go of the knife. At that point, Leonard picked up the man and threw him through the glass front door.

“That’s the only way I could get him off me,” he said.

Leonard said he went out to the street to look for the man but he was already gone.

Leonard suffered minor cuts and received stitches at Washington County Hospital. He returned to the barbershop after leaving the hospital. He said he must have been cut by the door because the intruder did not cut him with the knife.

This is the first time anyone has tried to rob the barbershop on Jonathan Street since he has worked there, Leonard said.

“I wish I would have thought to get his mask off,” Leonard said of the man. “All I’m worried about is the knife. It was so fast. We were moving fast.”

The Rev. Joe Fowlkes, who owns the barbershop, said Wednesday he already was in the process of ordering a new door. He said he believes the only damage to the business was to the front door.

Hagerstown Police Sgt. Paul Kifer said police believe the robber was injured in the incident.

Kifer described the robber as a light-skinned black male in his 20s, about 5 foot 9 inches tall, weighing about 150 pounds and wearing a black hooded sweat shirt outfit and a ski mask.

Kifer said the man might be the same one who robbed the Subway store at 1201 Dual Highway on Monday. He asked that if anyone sees a man matching that description that they do not approach him, but instead call Hagerstown City Police.

In the Monday robbery, a female employee was the only person in the Subway at about 10:20 a.m., when a man displaying what was described as a butcher knife entered the store and jumped the counter, Lt. Mark Holtzman has said.

The robber forced the employee away from the cash register and took money out of the drawer before forcing the woman into the back of the store and fleeing, he said.

The robber in that case was described as 5 feet 8 inches to 5 feet 10 inches tall, wearing a dark, hooded sweat shirt, a black knit ski mask and running pants.

Leonard thanked God for seeing him through Wednesday’s attack.

“I’m OK,” he said. “God kept me through all that. God is my protector. It’s been a ... wow ... It’s been a day.”