Man Hurling Hot Coffee Robs Fast-Food Eateries

A man has robbed at least four fast-food restaurants in Florida by throwing hot coffee on the clerk and snatching the cash from the till while the injured worker recoiled in pain, a police spokesman said.

The man, said to be in his 20s with a preference for cream and sugar in his coffee, has struck fast-food restaurants in Boynton Beach, Boca Raton and other southeast Florida cities at least four times since Nov. 9, grabbing $21 to $200 from the cash registers.

Each time, the robber ordered coffee and sometimes a pastry, then hurled the hot liquid on the clerk while the cash register was open. With the clerk stunned, the man jumped over the counter and grabbed the cash from the open till, police said.