Would-be armed robber taken out by customer

PANAMA CITY -- A Panama City Beach man was jailed early Monday after he tried to rob a convenience store with a knife but was taken down by a customer and held until police arrived, according to Panama City Police.

Chase Allen Sellers, 26, allegedly entered the Mr. Mart on West 11^th Street around 3:15 a.m. Monday and told a customer to “stand back, I am about to rob this place.” Then he pulled a knife and demanded money from the clerk. A customer disarmed him and held him on the floor until police arrived.

Sellers was taken to a hospital to be treated for neck and wrist pain before he was booked into the Bay County Jail for robbery with a deadly weapon.

Police are also investigating whether Sellers was involved in a similar robbery June 28 at the EZ Lane on East FifthStreet.

Sellers pleaded no contest last week to petit theft for ducking out of a Panama City Beach saloon earlier this month with a fistful of cash (later determined to be $19) that a worker watched him pull from a tip jar.