Gerald A. Rocchi flashed his chrome stapler at an employee of The Ice Cream Shop in Ashland, Kentucky, and demanded money. Employees handed over $175 cash, which was soon recovered from the robber's house, along with the stapler and a ski mask.

There was confusion over whether Rocchi intended to shoot employees with staples or use the stapler itself as a blunt instrument. and. to give him due credit, from a distance and in a dim light the stapler could have been mistaken for a gun.

I suspect he intended to shout, "Bang, Bang, you're dead," as he bombarded the employees with staples.

AP