Ironton police are searching for a person who held up the Speedway on Park Avenue late Sunday night; meanwhile, a city man is behind bars after he was allegedly caught breaking into parking meters.

According to the police department log, authorities were notified at 11:44 p.m. Sunday that a person using an ice scraper threatened a convenience store employee and got away with an unspecified amount of money. The suspect is described as an African-American male wearing blue jeans, blue jacket and a blue toboggan.

Also Sunday, Owen Friend, 30, of 724 Lawrence St., Ironton, was arrested in connection with parking meter vandalism.

"We got a call about a subject in the downtown area breaking into parking meters," Akers said. "When police got there they observed the subject allegedly breaking into a meter. There was a foot pursuit and he was tackled by officer Shawn Rawlins in the 300 block of Vernon Street."

Friend was charged with resisting arrest, theft and possession of criminal tools. A search of his person revealed $5.21 in change and criminal tools. He was lodged in the Lawrence County Jail.

The issue of parking meters is a familiar one city employees, who routinely report that parking meters are broken into in the overnight hours and money taken from them.

In the past, there have even been reports of entire meters being taken.