Man Fights Off Bikini-Clad Robber With Crutches

(NewsCore) - Two women were in a Florida jail facing robbery charges Tuesday after attempting to mug a man who fought them off using his crutches.

William Joseph Knowles told the South Florida Sun-Sentinel that his crutches, which was using because of a shin fracture he suffered in June, "came in handy" during the incident.

He was walking in Hollywood, Fla. -- about 20 miles (32km) north of Miami -- around 9:00am Monday morning when he was approached by two women, one of whom was only wearing a bikini, according to a police affidavit released Tuesday.

The women started talking to Knowles, 59, about his injury. One of the women then tried to restrain him while the other reached into his pants pocket to snatch his wallet.

"I spun around and pinned one up against the wall, then the other girl tried to hit me and I swung at her with my crutch," Knowles recalled. "I hit them a couple times with my crutches."

He flagged down a police officer, who found the two women -- later identified as 22-year-old Amber Lynn McKay and 21-year-old Veronica Anne Lane -- at a nearby hotel, according to the report.

Both were charged with robbery. Lane was ordered held on $7,500 bond, while McKay was ordered held without bond due to a probation violation.

Read more: South Florida Sun-Sentinel