Robber demands $4, then waits for victim to make change from $10

GREENBURGH, N.Y. -- A knife-wielding robber needed only $4, so he refused to take a $10 bill from his victim and waited while the man made change at a pizza parlor, police said Tuesday.

He then took the $4 and ran off, only to be captured a few blocks away, police said.

The suspect, James Mitchell, 48, was arraigned Tuesday on robbery and weapon charges. His lawyer, Arlene Popkin, refused to comment.

Police Capt. Joseph DeCarlo said it "really is an odd case, but it is a robbery."

The confrontation began over an artificial rose that the 18-year-old victim had just bought, police said.

"He came out of the store and was approached by the suspect, who said, 'Give me the rose,"' DeCarlo said. "The kid told him, 'Go in there and get one.' But the suspect says, 'I want that one, and your money, too,' and pulls out a knife.

When the teen said all he had was $10, the suspect said he wanted only $4, DeCarlo said.

"He tells the kid to go into the pizza parlor and get change," DeCarlo said. "Then the kid comes out, he takes his $4 and he leaves."

The teenager and his mother, who was across the street, called police and led officers to Mitchell, DeCarlo said.

He couldn't say why Mitchell wanted only $4.