Surveillance photo released of suspect in sex shop robbery

Iowa City police Tuesday released a surveillance photo of the man they say robbed an Iowa City adult shop last month and escaped with a $250 sex doll.

According to Iowa City police Sgt. Denise Brotherton, just before 3:10 a.m. Jan. 11, a male subject made small talk with a female clerk at Romantix Pleasure Palace, 315 Kirkwood Ave., before he displayed a hunting knife, forcing her to jump the counter. The suspect chased the clerk briefly before she ran from the store.

No one was injured, but the white male subject grabbed the doll and fled just before police arrived, a staff member said.

The store showed no signs of forced entry, according to the clerk. It operates from  8 a.m. to 4 a.m. daily.

The subject has been described as a 5-foot-8 to 5-foot-10, 165-pound man, who wore a black coat and a scarf over his face. He was also carrying a backpack.