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Bead Store Employees Turn The Tables On Robber With Fake Gun

(CBS) – A Wicker Park store clerk was hit in the face, but that didn't stop her from chasing and trying to hold down a would-be robber – after his fake gun fell apart.

CBS 2's Suzanne Le Mignot reports.

Beadniks employees Allison Nault and Anneka Beard  say suspect John Codispoti pulled a weapon on them at the North Side jewelry shop and told them to hand over the store's cash.

"I didn't really realize he was serious, until he started getting a little aggressive and pushing the gun at us and shoving us toward the registers," Beard says.

Nault says the suspect rushed her and she hit him.

"I tried to fight back and then I fell down. He grabbed the money that I had been holding and ran out the door," she says.

Beard says a piece of the suspect's gun fell apart. She says she realized it wasn't real.

"After he grabbed the money from Ally, he ran out. I followed him out of the store," Beard says.

Two Good Samaritans held the man down until police arrived.

Codispoti was on parole for armed robbery when he allegedly robbed this store and another one in East Ukrainian Village.

He is currently being held without bond at Cook County Jail.

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