Fashionable robber targets Pearl businesses

Fashionable robber targets Pearl businesses

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Story Published: Jul 25, 2007 at 11:31 PM PDT

Story Updated: Jul 26, 2007 at 7:39 AM PDT

By Anita Kissee and KATU Web Staff

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PORTLAND, Ore. - A fashionable crook carrying a Louis Vuitton messenger bag has been targeting businesses in the Pearl District.

Via Delizia, a dessert store, has the delectables to satisfy that sweet tooth, but Friday night Christy Combs' job was anything but sweet when a robber walked in with a gun.

"I just sort of froze for a second and looked at Erica and said 'is this for real?'" she told KATU News.

Combs stood up to the crook.

"I said 'if you walk away, you haven't done anything wrong," she said. "I don't know why I did it. Maybe because he was so unassuming. I thought maybe he hadn't done this before and maybe he will just walk away."

Instead, he demanded she fill his Louis Vuitton messenger bag with the $400 in the register.

The Pearl District has a reputation for fashion, good food and families, but not crime.

Police say the fashionable bandit has struck more than once. On Tuesday he hit a boutique where the clerk turned down his demands. Days before, the Quiznos across the street was hit too, but the robber only got away with cookies.

"I'm actually surprised it took this long for it to happen," said Jeremy Kohn, who works at Green Frog Toys. "There are a lot of boutiques that deal in high-end items that don't necessarily take credit."

Kohn and his co-workers are keeping their eyes wide open.

"He sounds like a memorable character you could spot a mile away," he said.

The Louis Vuitton bag, knock-off or not, is certainly an accessory you don't normally see a robber carrying.

"I've never seen it before, so I'm actually excited to see what a messenger bag from Louis Vuitton looks like," Kohn said jokingly.

Robber's Description

  • White
  • About 5 feet, 10 inches tall
  • Skinny
  • Scruffy goatee
  • Known for wearing dark clothes, a red and black baseball cap and carrying a Louis Vuitton messenger bag

Police would like to hear from anyone who has seen this person or who has further information.

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