Cape parishioners subdue would-be church robber

BARNSTABLE, Mass. (AP) _ Police in Massachusetts say churchgoers in a Cape Cod town tackled a would-be robber who tried to steal a collection box during a service.

Investigators say Clyde Bridges showed up Sunday at the Hyannis Foursquare Portuguese Church wearing a mask and carrying a cigarette lighter shaped like a gun.

Officers arrived to find the 45-year-old being held on the ground by parishioners who had tackled him and ripped off the mask.

Bridges is being held on $200,000 bail on armed robbery charges. He also is accused of robbing a pizza delivery man this month.

Bridges lawyer Terrance O'Connell says his client denies robbing the delivery man and does not remember what happened at the church before he was pinned down.