A man armed with a large size rock robbed the employee of the Red Wing Shoe Store at 117 Telegraph on Saturday evening at about 4:00 p.m.. The employee was closing down for the night and there was no one else in the store at the time. Police were alerted to the robbery by a witness watching the event unfold from the parking lot at that location.

The suspect approached the store employee as he was closing out the cash register for the day. The suspect allegedly stated "this is a robbery" held the large rock over the head of the employee and then took an undisclosed amount of cash. The suspect left on foot but not out of the view of several witnesses.

Within 5 minutes of receiving the call, several Bellingham Police Officers located the suspect and arrested him without incident.

He has been identified as 28 year old Joshua M. Wippert. Wippert has been booked into the Whatcom County Jail for Robbery 1st and Possession of a Controlled substance.

The money in the robbery has been recovered.