[Steve]

Man uses curtain rod to rob store

As weapons go, the gold-colored curtain rod a man used to rob a convenience store early Sunday certainly isn't the usual thing police see.

But clerks at the Kangaroo Express at --- said the man came in about 2:30 a.m. wielding the pole and demanding money, Newport cigarettes and Swisher Sweets cigars. He put the merchandise and $35.68 in cash into a backpack and ran off.

Police swept the area with patrol units but did not find the man. The robbery was captured by a surveillance camera, a police report said.

The clerks are not being named by the Times-Union because police have not reported an arrest in the case.