Friday, October 22, 2004
The suspect's coat has a black-and-white dragon on the back.
By PATRICIA MEADE
VINDICATOR CRIME REPORTER
YOUNGSTOWN -- A bartender's boyfriend at the Coconut Grove on South Avenue was shot in the hip early today during a robbery.
Willie R. Dishman, 42, of Indianola Road, was taken to St. Elizabeth Health Center around 12:45 a.m.
Sam Moffie, a candidate for Mahoning County commissioner, owns the tavern at 3229 South. Moffie said today that he's grateful that his brother, Todd, who works security at the bar, wasn't killed and that Dishman wasn't seriously hurt.
Sam Moffie said robbers have been terrorizing bars on South Avenue but this is the first time his has been hit. A week ago, Patsy's Bar was robbed of $600 from the register, and the gunman shot the security guard in the leg.
Several witnesses told police that a black man in his mid-20s came in through the front door of the Coconut Grove around 12:45 a.m. today and walked down the length of the bar. He then confronted the bartender, who was standing near the open register, and said, "I want everything out of the register!"
At that point, Todd Moffie and Dishman approached the robber from behind. Todd Moffie told police he grabbed the suspect from behind and Dishman jumped over the bar.
The bartender, Terri Swesey, jumped over the bar and ran outside.
What happened next
As the three men struggled, the robber pulled a stainless steel gun from under his coat and fired one round, hitting Dishman in the hip. The suspect then pointed the gun at Moffie, who turned over an unspecified amount of cash from the register.
Witnesses said the suspect leapt over the bar and, after demanding more money but getting none, ran out the front door and headed north past the Sundowner Tavern.
Witnesses described the robber as 6 feet to 6 feet 2 inches, 230 to 260 pounds, with a goatee and mustache.
He was wearing tan jogging pants and a beige leather coat with brown sleeves with a black-and-white dragon design on the back. Under the coat, he wore a brown sweat shirt with a hood. The hood was up over his head.
Todd Moffie, 28, of Boardman, believed two shots were fired, but police found only one casing.
A customer who had been on his way to the men's room saw the struggle and used his cell phone to call police.
"Fifteen to 18 patrons ran for their life. I can't blame them. ... He told Todd he would shoot him," Sam Moffie said of the armed robber. "I tell all my employees, 'Give the money.'"
meade@vindy.com