CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- A Charleston man confessed to trying to rob the Movie Gallery at Ashton Place -- with an empty Jello box.

"It was some kind of cheesecake dessert ... I'm not sure if it was pre-made," said Sgt. Aaron James, assistant chief of detectives for Charleston police. "I think he had just bought it at Kroger, and he ate it. Then he got the notion to go in and rob the business."

Paul E. Parrish II, 43, walked into the video rental store on Fledderjohn Road on Monday in a gray hooded sweatshirt, blue jeans, ski gloves and sandals and placed the Jello box on the counter, saying it contained a bomb.

Parrish ordered the clerk to give him money or the bomb would be detonated by remote control, but the clerk refused.

On Wednesday, a patrol officer stopped and interviewed Parrish, who fit the description of the attempted robber.

Before Parrish admitted to committing the crime, he watched the tape of the robbery with detectives.

"He said, 'That looks like a Jello box.' We said, 'Yeah, we think so too,'" James said.

Parrish soon confessed, James said.

"He said he didn't expect them to have a lot of money, but decided to rob them anyway. He wanted some money for gasoline and cigarettes," James said. "It was really kind of silly. I don't know what the heck he was thinking."

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- A Charleston man confessed to trying to rob the Movie Gallery at Ashton Place -- with an empty Jello box.

"It was some kind of cheesecake dessert ... I'm not sure if it was pre-made," said Sgt. Aaron James, assistant chief of detectives for Charleston police. "I think he had just bought it at Kroger, and he ate it. Then he got the notion to go in and rob the business."

Paul E. Parrish II, 43, walked into the video rental store on Fledderjohn Road on Monday in a gray hooded sweatshirt, blue jeans, ski gloves and sandals and placed the Jello box on the counter, saying it contained a bomb.

Parrish ordered the clerk to give him money or the bomb would be detonated by remote control, but the clerk refused.

On Wednesday, a patrol officer stopped and interviewed Parrish, who fit the description of the attempted robber.

Before Parrish admitted to committing the crime, he watched the tape of the robbery with detectives.

"He said, 'That looks like a Jello box.' We said, 'Yeah, we think so too,'" James said.

Parrish soon confessed, James said.

"He said he didn't expect them to have a lot of money, but decided to rob them anyway. He wanted some money for gasoline and cigarettes," James said. "It was really kind of silly. I don't know what the heck he was thinking."