Key to the defense was locating the tall, gaunt mansporting a maroon Basque-style beret who had allegedly been in the conveniencestore at the time of the robbery. That man was said to have witnessed the threeteenagers hassling the cashier just after ten pm, forcing him to hand over thefew bills in the register, threatening to return and cause havoc to the placeif he called the police, before escaping down the windswept street.

If the tall man could be located, he could identify theteenagers, who hadn’t bothered to wear masks or disguise themselves and shouldtherefore be easy to identify. The cashier couldn’t give the police any clues asto where they had come from, and where they were going, their pockets full ofhis evening’s hard-earned revenues.

But the man with the beret had seen everything. At least,according to Philip, who had been loitering outside when the teenagers robbedthe store.

Philip, who planned to purchase a pack of cigarettes, claimedthe man had been standing at the back when the teenagers rushed in. The mancame down the aisle but did nothing to stop the teenagers or protect thecashier, Philip said. The cashier had raised his hands in defense even beforethe youths announced their intention to rob the establishment. But, as Philiptried to explain, the tall man could certainly pick out the boys in a lineup.

That’s what Philip told the police officers who arrivedat the scene twenty minutes later, but they didn’t believe him.

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