Bandit uses The Force - on till

Bandit uses The Force - on till

By Lou Robson
October 08, 2006 12:00am

A THIEF crossed to the dark side when he donned a Darth Vader mask and robbed two Sunshine Coast service stations.

Police said the man, armed with a plastic toy gun, entered the Mobil service station on Noosa Drive at 12.30am on Friday and threatened a male attendant.

But the thief was unable to open the till and left empty handed.

A police spokesman said the Star Wars fan returned nearly three hours later and scanned a packet of chewing gum in order to open the cash register.

He escaped with an unknown amount of cash.

"The first time the man appeared, he was holding a toy gun and he approached the male console operator and demanded money," the spokesman said.

"The operator told him he couldn't open the cash register without scanning an item for purchase and the man ran off."

The same man is believed to have struck at the Caltex petrol station on Aerodrome Rd Maroochydore at 2am yesterday.

"A man wearing a Darth Vader mask approached the Maroochydore Caltex but the doors were locked and the attendant refused to open the doors," the spokesman said.

"The man stood outside for a few minutes and left."

A Noosa Heads Mobil employee jokingly suggested staff dress as Darth Vader's arch-enemy Luke Skywalker in order to scare the thief.

"We could come in dressed as Luke and have light swords and everything," he said.

The man was described as caucasian, in his early twenties, 170cm tall with a thin build. He was wearing a black shirt and black knee-length shorts.