DECEMBER 1--A 7’ 4” Michigan man who robbed a 7-Eleven store at knifepoint early Sunday later surrendered to police after apparently realizing that the ski mask he wore during the heist was not sufficient to cloak his towering identity.

According to police, Damon Matthews, 19, held up the Bay City convenience store around 3 AM and fled on foot with about $35 and several packs of Newport cigarettes.

A 7-Eleven worker told cops that the robber brandished a butcher knife and repeatedly threatened to kill him if he did not cooperate. While the suspect wore a black ski mask, the employee told investigators that he believed the armed robber was Matthews, a former high school classmate.

According to cops, Matthews told his sister that he had robbed the 7-Eleven, an admission that prompted her to advise him to immediately surrender to authorities. Matthews’s sister concluded that her brother’s connection to the robbery would be obvious due to his height.

Matthews, accompanied by his sibling, was taken into custody after he showed up at the Bay County jail. During a subsequent police interview, Matthews reportedly confessed to the robbery and identified the man who drove him to the 7-Eleven (seen below).

According to court records, Matthews’s November 29 arrest came four days after he pleaded guilty to a larceny charge (for which he is scheduled to be sentenced next month). Matthews had originally been charged with home inavasion, but that count was dropped as part of a plea deal.

Matthews is locked up in lieu of $75,000 bond on the felony armed robbery charge. (1 page)