Man Busted After Brief Encounter

JULY 9--Meet Patrick Bishop.

The Wisconsin man, 37, allegedly robbed a convenience store yesterday morning and made a highly unorthodox getaway attempt on a bicycle. According to police, after the stickup Bishop peddled away from the crime scene on a silver Mongoose mountain bike and began removing all of his clothes, with the exception of a pair of underpants (Fruit of Loom briefs, one cop reported).

Bishop also allegedly discarded the 'facsimile firearm' he used during the robbery at the West Side Auto Mart, according to a Hartford Police Department release. Apprehended shortly after the heist, Bishop was found with $412 stuffed into his underpants, which also held his empty wallet and a pack of Pall Mall cigarettes boosted during the holdup.

The loose cash was arrayed in Bishop's drawers in a manner similar to the way tips are provided to exotic dancers, noted Hartford Police Chief David Groves.

Bishop told cops that he had 'been robbed by an individual, whom he described as looking a lot like him, and wearing the same clothes. He claimed that this subject had stolen his clothes, but had left him with his wallet and all of his money.'

That explanation, not surprisingly, did not deter police from charging Bishop with armed robbery and booking him into the Washington County Jail, where the his mug shot was snapped. (2 pages)