The imagination was a powerful weapon for this semi-successful robber.
Steven Berlin waltzed into a Szechuan Palace in Gainesville, Florida looking to cash out. WTSP reported the 56-year-old waited inside for almost 30-minutes before he went to a female worker at the counter.
At that moment, Berlin pointed, not a gun, but his finger in her face and demanded the loot. And it worked! His fingers gesturing in a gun style was enough to scare the worker into giving him the $577 from the cash register.
Gainesville PD reported it was his actions that led her to believe that he really had a gun. However, they later caught the “criminal mastermind,” who admitted to the robbery.
But here’s the kicker. Even though Berlin didn’t really have a weapon, he still got charged with armed robbery because he was able to mislead the worker into coercion. He’s currently being held in Alachua County jail with a $25,000 bond…All over a finger.
