PROVIDENCE, R.I. - Police say a man used a potato to pretend he had a gun while trying to rob a Rhode Island business.

WPRI-TV reports that the man entered a convenience store Monday with a potato and shouted: "Give me the money." A police report says the store manager chased him off with a baseball bat. Police provided a description of the suspect. They say officers later went to a laundromat where an employee told them a man fitting the description came in carrying a potato and yelled: "I need the money."

The TV station reports that the employee gave the man a $20 bill from a decoy cash register, and he left.