Man uses knife to rob laundry

A man tried to stab an employee at a laundromat at 42nd and Chestnut streets yesterday in the process of an armed robbery, University Police said last night. The man, who had a knife in his possession, threatened the female employee with his knife and demanded the money from the cash register at about 2:40 p.m., University Police Sergeant Ivan Kimble said. The female ran from the store, escaping injury. The perpetrator managed to pry open the cash register and steal an unknown amount of money before he fled the scene. Philadelphia Police and University Police responded to the incident but have not made any arrests at this point, Kimble said. Later in the afternoon, in an unrelated incident, a man robbed a United Parcel Service driver at gunpoint in the 400 block of South 44th Street, Kimble said. At around 5 p.m., a perpetrator approached the driver and robbed him of several hundred dollars in cash. The man fled the scene following the incident, Kimble said, and the police have made no arrests. Kimble did not have a description of either man involved in the separate robberies. In another incident yesterday, Philadelphia Police and University Police responded to a burglary in progress in the 4200 block of Walnut Street. Philadelphia Police arrested the burglar inside the house at around 4:38 p.m., Kimble said. He added that it is not known if anything was taken. Kimble said the owner of the house was not inside at the time of the burglary. Earlier yesterday morning, in an unrelated incident, a man exposed himself at 33rd and Walnut streets, Kimble said. University Police thoroughly checked the area and did not find anyone matching the description of the man, Kimble said. This is the second such indecent exposure reported to police this month. The first occurred earlier in the month on the first floor of Van Pelt Library. No arrests have been made in connection with either incident.