Man charged with three-beer robbery in Lisle

A man using his finger to simulate a gun in his pocket robbed a Lisle convenience store but only got away with a few beers after a clerk fought back, authorities said Thursday.

Bail was set at $300,000 for 28-year-old Tyris Robinson of Lisle, who was hiding under a sofa when he was arrested Wednesday, according to police.

Robinson is accused of robbing a 7-Eleven at 1100 Ogden Ave. in Lisle about 12:40 a.m. Feb. 4. Prosecutor Louisa Nuckolls said the defendant — with a hoodie partially over his face — reached into his pocket and pointed at the store’s owner and clerk “as if he were holding a gun.”

Police said the owner, who walks with a cane, struggled with Robinson and tried to force him out of the store as he repeatedly demanded money. The robber attempted to open a cash register during the scuffle, police said. He eventually ran to a cooler, took three beers and fled, Nuckolls told DuPage County Judge Elizabeth Sexton in bond court.

“The owner recognized the defendant as a semiregular customer,” Nuckolls said.

Robinson admitted to the robbery after police located him Wednesday at his home on the 4500 block of Dumoulin Avenue, prosecutors said. Lisle Police Watch Cmdr. Ron Wilke said officers found him hiding under a sofa.

Robinson also was wanted in the theft of a $30 conduit bender Monday from Weldon’s Hardware, 4715 Main St. in Lisle, according to court records. Bail in that case was set at $5,000.

Prosecutors said Robinson was sentenced to prison in 2007 for armed robbery and was discharged from parole about a year ago. Robinson told the judge he now works for a home security firm.