Beating by proprietor prompted suspect to drop cash register, run off, police said. 
 
 Miyo Koba, an 89-year-old store owner in Spokane, Wash., used a golf club to beat off a suspected robber who wielded a sword. (Photo: KREM-TV, Spokane) 
 
 An 89-year-old store owner in Washington state used a golf club to beat off a suspected robber who wielded a sword, prompting the suspect to drop the stolen cash register as he made away on a bicycle, according to police and published reports. 
 
 Police in the 21,000-population city of Moses Lake say owner Miyo Koba was inside Frank's Superette on Sunday morning when a tall, slender male wearing a ski mask and dark glasses swooped in. Koba has owned the store in this community between Seattle and Spokane for 60 years, and kept it up even after her husband died, police said. Her store is popular among local high school students and is a block and a half from the school, police said. 
 
 When Koba found the suspect standing behind the cash register Sunday, she set about a campaign of aggression. Police describe Koba as a small woman who weighs no more than 125 pounds. 
 
 "I had the scissors in my hand like this, and he was trying to open the till, and he said, 'Open the till!'" Koba said, giving KREM-TV/Spokane, blow-by-blow details. "I said, 'No, I'm not going to open the till for you,' and I said, 'If you don't get your hands off the till, I'm going to stab you with my scissors.'" 
 
 Koba admitted she didn't have the nerve to stab the suspect, but her tactics apparently had an effect. The suspect became unnerved when Koba would not open the register, Koba told KREM. 
 
 "He started pounding on the register trying to open it," Koba said. 
 
 "He pulled out his little sword out of his little jacket, and he just kind of waved it a little bit," she told KREM. Police said the "little" sword was 3-feet-long. 
 
 The suspect pushed Koba, and she fell, spotting the golf club, she said. 
 
 "I … tried to swing this club at him, and I tried to hit his head a couple of times, but I couldn't reach it," Koba told the news organization. 
 
 No matter. She went for his legs, swinging and hitting them. 
 
 The man escaped on a bicycle, cash register and sword in hand, according to KREM, but police said Koba later recovered the register nearby with the money still in it. 
 
 The man apparently stripped after he left the store because police later found his clothing, according to KREM. 
 
 Police said they are continuing the investigation. 
 
 Koba said the would-be robber with the "little" sword never fazed her. 
 
 "I didn't feel threatened," she told KREM. "It just probably made me a little more brave." 
 
 Read or Share this story: http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/05/27/golf-club-store-sword/9652891/ ||||| 89-year-old woman fights off sword wielding robber with golf club 
 
 MOSES LAKE, Wash.— An 89-year-old storeowner used a golf club to fight-off a robbery suspect who was armed with a sword Sunday morning in Moses Lake. 
 
 
 
 Police said the suspect entered Frank’s Superette with a sword. He managed to get away with a cash register and rode-off on a BMX bike according to witnesses. 
 
 
 
 During the ordeal, the storeowner said she struck the man with a golf club. Her son said she was not injured and later recovered the cash register. 
 
 
 
 The owner, Miyo Koba, had owned the business for 60 years. 
 
 
 
 Koba said she found the man standing behind the cash register on Sunday. 
 
 
 
 “I had the scissors in my hand like this, and he was trying to open the till, and he said, ‘Open the till!’ I said, “No I'm not going to open the till for you’, and I said, ‘If you don't get your hands of the till, I'm gonna stab you with the scissors.’ But I didn't. I didn't have the nerve to stab him,” said Koba. 
 
 
 
 Koba said the man became irritated after she would not help him get money out of the register for him. 
 
 
 
 “He started pounding on the register trying to open it because I wouldn’t do it for him,” said Koba. “He pulled out his little sword out of his little jacket, and he just kind of waved it a little bit.” 
 
 
 
 Police said the blade of the sword extended three feet. 
 
 
 
 “I didn't feel threatened. It just probably made me a little bit more brave,” said Koba. 
 
 
 
 Koba said the man pushed her slightly to get away. 
 
 
 
 “I fell down here and so I got into a sitting position. I got into a sitting position and I found the club so I went tried to swing this club at him and I tried to hit his head a couple times but I couldn't reach it,” said Koba. 
 
 
 
 Koba said she hit the man’s legs. 
 
 
 
 Koba said the suspect apparently took off his clothing after leaving the store. Koba said the man was tall and slender, wearing a ski mask and dark sunglasses. Police said they recovered the man’s clothing later. 
 
 
 
 “He must have been running around in his underwear and no shoes because that's what they said, they found all his clothes,” said Koba. 
 
 
 
 Police were still searching for the man on Tuesday. If you have any information on the suspect you are asked to call Moses Lake Police.
– Strange enough that a would-be robber of a small-town store in Washington state used a sword as his weapon of choice and a bicycle as his getaway vehicle. But what truly elevates the story is that the store's owner, an 89-year-old widow, just wasn't having it, reports USA Today. Miyo Koba of Moses Lake tells KREM-TV that she refused the robber's demand to open the register and instead threatened him with scissors. When he pushed her away and she fell, she spotted a golf club. "I ... tried to swing this club at him and I tried to hit his head a couple times but I couldn't reach it,” she says. She then started bashing him in the legs, rattling him enough that he fled with the register. Or tried to anyway. It's apparently difficult to ride a bike while carrying one, not to mention a sword, and police recovered it near the scene, still full of money. (Click to read about a rowdy rodeo attendee who ended up getting lassoed, then arrested.)