DUNCANSVILLE, Pa. from www.altoonamirror.com – A hammer-wielding clerk chased a would-be robber from a Duncansville adult video store early Thursday, Allegheny Township police report.

Shannon M. Cheripka, 28, of 121 Rodeo Drive, Glasgow, and Angela M. Crook, 26, of 136 Main St., Coalport, were arrested shortly after the clerk at Adult World, 175 Old Route 22, reported a woman had tried to rob the business about 1 a.m., court records said.

Police said the women drove around to “find a place to rob” and settled on Adult World because Cheripka had worked at the Bellwood Adult World when it was robbed in August and that no one was caught.

Police said Cheripka confessed to the attempted robbery and told how the clerk, an older man working alone, grabbed the tip of the gun she was carrying when he realized it was a toy.

“First, if you’re going to rob someone, get a real gun,” the man said, according to Cheripka’s confession to police. “Second off, you’re not getting any money.”

According to the pair’s arrest papers, the clerk told police he initially saw a flash of silver coming from the sleeve of a person who walked into the store wearing a brown hat, green face mask and camouflage. The clerk said the woman told him to give him all the money, and he told her to “just chill and hang for a minute,” police said.

When the clerk realized the gun was a toy, he confronted Cheripka and grabbed a hammer from behind the counter as she ran, police said.

The clerk caught up with her and pushed her out the door, where she tried to run to a white minivan parked in an adjacent abandoned lot, police said.

At that point, police said the clerk grabbed the woman and tried to drag her back into the store, pulling off her mask, hat and coat. The woman then dropped the toy gun and got in the passenger side door of the van before they drove off, police said.

Cheripka admitted she was the woman who tried to rob the store, police said.

The pair were caught by Logan Township police as Allegheny Township police were still interviewing the video store clerk at the scene, police note.

Police said the clerk identified Cheripka as the would-be robber and Crook as the woman who had been in the store minutes before the robbery, which police indicate was done so the pair could scope out the store before the heist.

When questioned by police, Crook denied taking part in the caper and said Cheripka had told her she had to go to Altoona to buy diapers. Crook said that she went into Adult World to buy something because “she and her fiance were having sexual problems,” police said in court papers. Crook allegedly told police she pulled into the adjacent lot because of phone trouble and said Cheripka told her she had to go to the bathroom before donning the jacket and getting out. A few minutes later, Crook claimed, she heard yelling and saw Cheripka wrestling with the clerk.

Both women were charged with robbery, attempted robbery, criminal conspiracy and several related counts. They were placed in Blair County Prison after failing to post bail, set for each at 10 percent of $25,000.

Preliminary hearings for both women are set for Sept. 30 before Magisterial District Judge Steven Jackson.
.