City police spokeswoman Natatia Bledsoe said the incident occurred at Snellings Market at 2010 Princess Anne St. The suspect entered the store and asked the clerk to give him change for a $50 bill.
The clerk asked to see the bill, and the suspect didn’t show it. They then argued about the clerk’s refusal to open the cash register until the $50 bill was displayed.
The clerk finally decided to call the police, but the suspect snatched the phone away from him. The clerk then started to leave the store and was "sucker-punched" in the head and knocked to the floor, Bledsoe said. The suspect continued to assault the clerk until he agreed to open the register, police said. The suspect then grabbed a handful of bills and left.
Two witnesses outside the store saw the suspect run to the nearby Relax Inn. Bledsoe said the suspect, who has an address on Charles Street about a block from the market, was pounding on a door at the motel but the residents wouldn’t let him in.
Police were at the motel a short time later when the suspect walked around the corner. The clerk and the two witnesses identified him as the man who caused the earlier commotion.
David Hamilton, 33, was charged with strong-arm robbery, abduction, malicious wounding and preventing a person from summoning assistance. He was placed in the Rappahannock Regional Jail under no bond.
The clerk was treated at Mary Washington Hospital for his injuries.
- Keith Epps, The Free Lance-Star