Man with ‘fake accent’ robs Pizza Outlet

A man with an 'obviously fake' Australian accent brandished a revolver and robbed the Pizza Outlet in the Boyce Park Shopping Plaza just before 9:30 p.m. Sunday, police said.

The lone employee in the store at the time was not injured.

A second employee was out making a delivery when the robber entered through the back door, which was propped open, and demanded money. The robber told the female employee that he would not hurt her, even though he was pointing a 'snub-nose revolver' at her, police said.

After getting $688 from the cash register, the bandit left through the back door. No vehicle was seen, and the direction of the robber's flight was not known, according to a police report.

The robber, who tried to disguise his voice by speaking with an Australian accent, also tried to disguise his 6-foot, 240-pound physique by wearing a gray-hooded sweatshirt, a scarf wrapped around his head and black leather gloves, according to the report.

Police are investigating the incident and have a suspect, but also are checking with the Monroeville Police Department since the entry through the rear door is similar to a recent armed robbery in that municipality.

In the Monroeville incident, entry was made through the rear door by an armed robber who displayed a small silver revolver and demanded money. The robbery occurred at 9:30 a.m. June 6 at the Monroeville Messenger Service on Mosside Boulevard. An undisclosed amount of money was taken before the man, described as being 5 feet 10 inches to 6 feet tall, fired one shot in the clerk's direction before fleeing through the rear door.

Jim Powers, director of marketing for the Pizza Outlet chain of 106 stores in five states, acknowledged the robbery and said they 'are working 100 percent with the Plum Police Department.'

Rose A. Domenick can be reached at rdomenick@tribweb.com or (412) 380-8521.