Robbery attempt ends with fist to face

A robbery attempt earned an man nothing but a punch in the face after he allegedly tried to steal a cellphone from a truck driver early Thursday in Northeast Hazel Dell.

The series of events started around 2:15 a.m., when the truck driver was filling up his rig with gas at 7208 N.E. St. Johns Road, said Sgt. Fred Neiman, a sheriff’s office spokesman.

According to police reports, the truck driver noticed a man getting in his truck cab and found him leaving with his cellphone. The truck driver confronted the suspect, who then pulled a plastic gun on the driver, Neiman said. The driver grabbed the fake gun, threw it into the street and punched the suspected thief in the face.

The suspect then took off running north on Saint Johns. He quickly stopped to recover his plastic gun.

Police, including a canine unit, responded but were unable to find the suspect, who was described as a white male in his early 20s, about 6-feet tall with a thin build. He was wearing black-framed glasses, a green windbreaker and a black baseball cap, Neiman said.