Knife-Wielding Sushi Chef Foils Robbery

Restaurants are a poor choice of place to rob, because as one thief discovered this week, everyone in the kitchen is armed with knives.

According to The News-Gazette, on Tuesday night 23-year-old Clayton Dial allegedly entered the Kamakura Japanese Steakhouse in Champaign, Ill., looking for a fast way to get some money. He walked to the cash register and pulled what looked like a gun on the 17-year-old hostess. But sushi chef Tetsuji Miwa was standing just a few yards away, and he grabbed his sushi knife and intervened.

"He said, 'Give me your money. Open the drawer.' That's when I instantly grabbed my sushi knife, walked up to him, wrapped my arm around his shoulder and asked him what he wanted," Miwa said.

At the sight of the knife, Dial, who was actually only carrying a pellet gun, took off and ran, but Miwa chased after him as a waitress called the police. Two managers saw what was happening and ran after to help. Together they subdued Dial in the parking lot and held him in place until the police arrived to arrest him.

Professional knives are expensive, and Miwa said he was very worried about damaging his.

"It's pretty expensive so I didn't want to damage it or use it. I was telling him, 'Don't make me use this,'" Miwa said. "As soon as the other two managers came out, I set it down to the ground very carefully because I didn't want to damage my blade."