BRIDGEPORT, Ohio --

A man is in custody after police said he beat a gas station clerk over the head with a piece of lumber then stole two cartons of cigarettes.

Harc Brown III was arrested by Bridgeport police early Monday morning. Police said Brown is currently on probation for robbing the same gas station a few months ago.

Early Monday, police said Brown parked his vehicle across the street from the Sunoco on Main Street in Bridgeport before approaching the store about 3:40 a.m.

Investigators said Brown picked up a 2-by-6-foot wooden board and assaulted a gas station attendant who was taking out the garbage behind an ice chest. The attendant fell over the interstate guardrail into the woods, then Brown entered the store and stole the cigarettes.

After the incident, Brown was stopped immediately by an Ohio State Highway Patrol trooper.

"He didn't make it across the street," said Bridgeport Police Chief Andy Klotz. "The state trooper was coming off of Marion Street and saw the suspect crossing the street with the 2-by-6 and the orange ski mask and called it in."

Once Bridgeport police arrived, they determined Brown was on probation for robbing the same gas station a few months ago. During that incident, police said Brown stole cash which he ultimately was ordered to pay back.

Monday, Brown was booked into the Belmont County Jail on charges of aggravated robbery, criminal trespassing and felonious assault.

The gas station worker was transported to East Ohio Regional Hospital and is doing OK, officials said.