White Dog robbed at gunpoint

A White Dog Cafe manager was robbed at gunpoint yesterday in the restaurant at 34th and Sansom streets, owner Judy Wicks said last night. In the incident, which occurred at about 9:30 a.m., the suspect made off with $300 from a cash drawer in the restaurant's piano bar, Tales. Because of the time of day, there were no patrons in the cafe during the robbery, Wicks added. University Police Sergeant Tim Trucksess described the suspect as a "six-foot black male, in his 20s, wearing a red, white and blue ski jacket and a brown cap." The suspect was last seen fleeing west on Sansom Street carrying a blue nylon bag. Wicks, who was not in the restaurant during the incident, also said the suspect entered the cafe through a side door that was opened at 9 a.m. and left unlocked so employees could enter. A cafe manager, who found the man in the piano bar removing the locked drawer with "back-up change," asked the man what he was doing in the restaurant. The suspect responded by displaying a gun and said to the manager, "Don't mess with me, mister," Wicks added. She said the man then fled the restaurant, leaving through the same unlocked side door he had originally used to gain access to the restaurant. Trucksess said University Police responded to the armed robbery after a call was dispatched over Philadelphia Police radio as a "rape." In addition, Wicks said she does not want the incident to add to the high-crime reputation of West Philadelphia. "This is the first time we've ever had someone come in here and take money," Wicks said. "In the 22 years I've lived here, we've never had an armed robbery," she added. "It was the first time and hopefully the last."

Please note All comments are eligible for publication in The Daily Pennsylvanian.