Police: Clerk not swayed by robber's knife

RAPID CITY, S.D., June 30 (UPI) -- Police in South Dakota said a motel front desk clerk turned away a robber who demanded money while armed with a butter knife.

Rapid City police said the Howard Johnson Express Inn clerk refused to give the man any money when he approached her at about 6 p.m. Sunday and the suspect left the facility, the Rapid City Journal reported Tuesday.

Police said they received a description of the attempted robber and a man matching the description was seen by an officer at about 7 p.m. standing in front of an apartment building. The man, Robert McKinney, 34, was arrested and police confiscated the butter knife believed used to threaten the clerk.

McKinney was taken to the Pennington County Jail. If convicted on a first-degree robbery charge, a class 2 felony, he could face a maximum 25 years in prison and a $50,000 fine.