A Town of Tonawanda man is under arrest, thanks to the help of a quick thinking bystander.
Police say 59-year-old Robert Samson came armed with a pistol when he went to rob the 7-Eleven on Sheridan Drive late last month.
Investigators tell us a passerby saw the crime unfolding and entered the store, armed with a large "D" cell flashlight. Police say the man then sneaked up behind Samson and hit him several times in the head with the flashlight.
Officers say Samson then stumbled out of the store and managed to remain hidden for the next few hours. The following afternoon, police say they discovered Samson hiding in the attic of his home in the Town of Tonawanda. He was arrested and taken to the hospital for head injuries, which officers believe he sustained in the robbery attempt.
Investigators say Samson has been linked and charged with two other recent armed robberies in the Town of Tonawanda. He's currently being held on $75,000 bail at the Erie County Holding Center.
According to police, Samson was also arrested in 2008 for cemetery desecration and grand larceny, for stealing vases attached to graves and selling them as scrap metal.
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