LORAIN — He has a black eye and broken dentures, but for the first time in days, Rudolph Harsar is a happy man.

The man who allegedly robbed him at Rudy’s Market & Carry Out at closing time Monday is behind bars.

Keonn Chaney, 29, of Lorain, was being held without bond on a robbery charge at the Lorain County Jail.

Harsar said he immediately recognized Chaney as the man who robbed him four times in the past.

This time, he said things got really ugly when Chaney entered his store on West 23rd Street.

“He beat the hell out of me,” said Harsar, 69. “He came running in and threw me on the floor and said, ‘Rudy, I want the money.’ ”

“He hit me on the face 15 to 20 times, and I was all bloodied up,” Harsar said. Chaney left with about $30, he said.

Chaney was arrested early Friday afternoon with the help of the Northern Ohio Violent Fugitive Crime Task Force.

Lorain police Det. Steyvan Curry said the investigation led to Chaney. Authorities sought him at several locations before arresting him outside his mother’s home in the 1700 block of Oakdale Avenue in Lorain.

He wasn’t at the house, but relatives gave Chaney’s cell phone number to authorities.

He surrendered to police after hiding outside a nearby residence for about an hour.

CARL SULLENBERGER / CHRONICLE

Rudy Harsar smiles as he sits in his store Friday, even though he still shows signs of the beating he took during a robbery there on Monday.

Curry said Chaney told police he “felt sorry after the fact, and he told me to tell Rudy he was sorry.”

Chaney said “voices made him do it,” Curry said.

Police are investigating whether Chaney was involved in several other robberies at the store, which was robbed of about $70 in January, $120 in December and $200 in October 2007. Curry said Chaney denied being involved in the other incidents.

Meanwhile, Harsar hasn’t lost his faith in people, even though he said he has been robbed eight times over the years.

“I’ve been here 25 years, and most people are decent,” he said.

Contact Cindy Leise at 329-7245 or cleise@chroniclet.com.

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