THREE RIVERS (WKZO) — He was nick-named the “Panda Bandit”, but he was no master criminal. In fact his attempt to stick-up a Three Rivers gas station in May was a total screw up.
Corey Dwyer was given a 4 to 20 year sentence after cutting a deal with prosecutors.
Cameras show Dwyer walking in to a Shell Station last May wearing the head from a panda costume, only to discover that the clerk was not behind the counter.
He grabbed a few items but couldn’t get into the register and walked out empty handed.
His vision was impaired by the mask, and he did not see that the clerk followed him out of the place.
When he was confronted, store surveillance showed him pistol-whipping the clerk, who was not seriously injured. .
Dwyer had initially also been charged with assault but that count was apparently dropped as part of the plea agreement.
He abandoned the gun and the mask a short distance away as he fled.
It was that silly mask that prompted the tips that led police to identify Dwyer, who would eventually turn himself in.
