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Reclining seats, bar and bistro features of new steampunk style luxury theatre at The Mall at Steamtown in Scranton

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The LCCC paramedic class held a community service project

<p>LUZERNE &#8212; With a gun pointed at him, Raj Patel did as he was told and handed over cash from the register.</p><p>Less than an hour after he was robbed by a masked man Tuesday afternoon, the owner of Chuck&#8217;s News Stand on Main Street watched the heist unfold again on a color monitor as his security system replayed its footage.</p><p>Police caught the suspect several blocks away near the intersection of Sly and Miller streets. Police said they were still investigating and declined to comment on the case. They have yet to publicly identify the suspect.</p><p>&#8220;I&#8217;m lucky he didn&#8217;t shoot me,&#8221; Patel, 47, said as he reviewed the video for a Times Leader reporter and photographer in the back room of the store.</p><p>It showed him on a cordless phone when the suspect, wearing a hooded top and brandishing a black handgun with a long barrel, came into the store. Patel narrated the silent video: As the suspect &#8212; a young white man &#8212; orders him to open the register, &#8220;I say OK,&#8221; Patel said. The footage shows him lifting the tray, pulling a wad of bills from underneath and handing it over. He estimated it was $500.</p><p>&#8220;What can I do,&#8221; Patel asked the gunman, not expecting an answer. Patel said the suspect told him not to call police and dropped some of the money on the floor. The video shows a customer walk in as the gunman is picking up the money. He points the gun at the customer and walks out of view.</p><p>As the gunman was leaving Patel activated a hold-up alarm, prompting a police response. Patel said there was another customer outside the store who saw the suspect run away. He said he told the customer, &#8220;Don&#8217;t go follow him. Maybe he come back and shoot him.&#8221;</p><p>Despite knowing police caught the suspect, Patel said he couldn&#8217;t shake the experience. &#8220;Yeah, I&#8217;m scared,&#8221; he said.</p><p>In business since 2009, he said this was the first robbery and the first criminal incident in the store, for that matter. &#8220;Never no problem six years,&#8221; Patel said.</p><p>Police searched for the suspect and soon spotted him running through nearby yards. A witness, who would not provide his name for fear the suspect might retaliate, said he saw a Kingston police officer with his weapon drawn spot the suspect and order him to stop.</p><p>The witness said the suspect kept running and jumped over a fence but the officer followed and caught him shortly after 1 p.m.</p><p>The witness said he gave credit to the officer for not firing his weapon at the suspect. &#8220;He could have probably been justified&#8221; had he shot the suspect, the witness said.</p><p>A Hanover Township police K-9 officer and his dog later arrived at the scene to search for the weapon reportedly ditched by the suspect during the chase.</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Kingston and Luzerne police take a man into custody at Sly and Miller streets after he allegedly robbed Chuck&#8217;s News Stand on Main Street in Luzerne on Tuesday. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/web1_TTL102115robbery1.jpg</photo0><caption0>Kingston and Luzerne police take a man into custody at Sly and Miller streets after he allegedly robbed Chuck&#8217;s News Stand on Main Street in Luzerne on Tuesday. </caption0><photoCredit0>Aimee Dilger | Times Leader </photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/web1_TTL102115robbery2.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Kingston and Luzerne police take a man into custody at Sly and Miller streets after he allegedly robbed Chuck&#8217;s News Stand on Main Street in Luzerne on Tuesday. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/web1_TTL102115robbery2.jpg</photo1><caption1>Kingston and Luzerne police take a man into custody at Sly and Miller streets after he allegedly robbed Chuck&#8217;s News Stand on Main Street in Luzerne on Tuesday. </caption1><photoCredit1>Aimee Dilger | Times Leader </photoCredit1></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/web1_TTL102115robbery3.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Raj Patel reviews survellience video of himself being robbed at gunpoint on Tuesday. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo2>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/web1_TTL102115robbery3.jpg</photo2><caption2>Raj Patel reviews survellience video of himself being robbed at gunpoint on Tuesday. </caption2><photoCredit2>Aimee Dilger | Times Leader </photoCredit2></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/web1_TTL102115robbery4.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">A police officer and canine look for evidence near Sly Street in Luzerne after a robbery on Tuesday. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo3>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/web1_TTL102115robbery4.jpg</photo3><caption3>A police officer and canine look for evidence near Sly Street in Luzerne after a robbery on Tuesday. </caption3><photoCredit3>Aimee Dilger | Times Leader </photoCredit3></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><subheadMeta>Luzerne newsstand robbed by gun-toting, masked man</subheadMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Jerry Lynott</p><p>jlynott@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Jerry Lynott at 570-991-6120 or on Twitter @TLNews</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Police catch man who allegedly robbed Chuck’s News Stand