Police: Gun shaped cologne bottle used in Akron robbery attempt

AKRON -- Akron police say they've never quite seen anything like this before, after they say a man used a cologne bottle to try and pull a robbery

Investigators say 41-year-old Michael Kaminski's weapon of choice was a bottle of Stetson cologne, shaped like a gun.

Police say Kaminski approached an employee of the Highland Square Video store around 6:45 last night.

The worker was behind the store, talking with an employee of a next door business, Primo Tanning.

Kaminski allegedly told the workers, with his hand in his pocket, to get back into the store.

That's when one of the men grabbed the suspect, and scuffled with him.

"The supposed gun had flopped out on the ground," says the employee of Highland Square Video, who did not want to be identified. "I grabbed it and as soon as I picked it up you could feel how light it was and it was at least a toy and later on from the aroma you could tell it was bottle of cologne."

Both employees held Kaminski down until police arrived.

They discovered that one of the suspect's weapons was actually a bottle of cologne. The other was a knife.

"Very, very crazy," says Chris Waters, who owns the video store. "A bottle of cologne, who would think that would be a weapon of choice? Not very smart."

"This is the first time that I have come across where someone has used a bottle shaped as a gun as a weapon," adds Lt. Rick Edwards of the Akron Police Department.

Kaminski is charged with Aggravated Robbery and Carrying a Concealed Weapon, for the knife.

He's been booked into the Summit County Jail.