Man suspected in robbery of dry cleaner, holdup try

Howard County police say a man wanted in the armed robbery of a Columbia cleaning business Friday afternoon probably is the same one who tried to rob a woman in a parking lot there early that morning.

No one was injured in the 3:45 p.m. robbery, police said.

According to police reports, a man entered the Bergman Cleaners in the 7100 block of Minstrel Way in the Owen Brown Village, displayed a black pistol and ordered workers to turn over cash. The man fled with an undisclosed amount of cash, police said.

He last was seen running on nearby Snowden River Parkway, police said.

The robber was described as a clean-shaven black male wearing a black jacket, dark gray sweat pants and white tennis shoes.

Police said the man's description matches that of one who approached a woman in a parking lot near the cleaners early Friday. The woman told police that the man showed her a gun, demanded money and fled when she denied she had cash.

Anyone with information should call Howard County police at 313-2220.