Police: Robber armed with chainsaw had flower pot on head

FLINDERS VIEW, Australia, Feb. 13 (UPI) —

Australian police said they arrested a 19-year-old man accused of arming himself with a chainsaw and covering his head with a flower pot to rob a store.

Investigators said Steven Frank Steele, 19, of Leichhardt, had a flower pot over his head to conceal his identity and was holding a running chainsaw when he entered the 7-Eleven store in Flinders View about 4:30 a.m. Monday, the Queensland Times reported Thursday.

Police said the two store attendants fled to a back room when Steele lunged at them. He allegedly used the chainsaw to damage a window and several display racks when they refused his demands for money.

Steele allegedly bared his buttocks to the store employees and damaged a parked car while fleeing the scene. Police said he took a bottle of soda from the store.

Police said the chainsaw, which is believed to have been stolen, was recovered from a bush near the scene and Steele was arrested by a police officer who saw him walking down a nearby street.

Steele was charged with one count of armed robbery, two counts of willful damage, one count of going armed to cause fear, one count of public nuisance and one count of possessing suspected stolen property.