Store Clerk Uses Broom to Thwart Pelham Robber: Cops

MANCHESTER, NH — A local man was arrested early this morning after a Queen City store clerk fended off with a broomstick the perp’s alleged attempts to rob the store of cash, according to police. Jarrod Parolisi, 29, of Pelham, was arrested on Dec. 13, 2016, and charged with robbery and theft by unauthorized taking.

Editor’s note: This post was derived from information supplied by the Manchester Police Department. It does not indicate a conviction. This link explains the name removal request process for NH Patch police reports.

Police were called to the 7-Eleven on South Main Street in Manchester at just after 1:30 a.m. this morning for a robbery call, according to a press alert. A store clerk alleged that he observed a man enter the store and then, he placed two cigarette lighters inside of his pocket before approaching the counter.

“(The clerk) asked the man if he intended on paying for the lighters,” Lt. Brian O’Keefe of the Manchester Police Department alleged. “The suspect told (the clerk) to relinquish cash from the register, but (he) refused to concede. The suspect asked a second time and stated he would shoot the clerk if he did not receive the money from the register. He made the threat while motioning as if he had a handgun underneath his sweatshirt.”

The clerk, however, pressed the store’s panic alarm, “grabbed a broom and hit the suspect several times as the suspect made an attempt to reach for the cash register drawer,” O’Keefe stated. The clerk thwarted the robbery and chased the suspect – later identified as Parolisi – out of the store.

The responding officers took information from the clerk – including the description of a vehicle that Parolisi allegedly exited before coming into the store, a red Cadillac with Massachusetts plates – and officers began looking for the vehicle. A short time later, according to O’Keefe, the vehicle was seen passing the Catholic Medical Center on South Main Street.

The officer stopped the vehicle and determined that a passenger was not involved in the incident. The passenger was released from the scene. Parolisi, however, was charged and held. He’s due to be arraigned this morning.