ALPINE TOWNSHIP -- A 72-year-old former Marine fought off a man who tried to steal money out of his pocket.

The story is making the national news. News agencies across the country, including the Today Show, have requested the video surveillance of the event.

Bill Barnes says he was scratching off a losing $2 lottery ticket around 9 a.m. June 22 at the Next Door Food Store at 4616 Alpine Avenue in Alpine Township. That is when he felt a
hand slip into his front-left pants pocket, where he had $300 in cash.

He immediately grabbed the person's wrist with his left hand and started throwing punches with his right, landing six or seven blows before a store manager intervened.

The three men struggled through the front door, where two witnesses said the manager slammed the suspect to the ground and held him there until police arrived.

The suspect - Jesse Daniel Rae, 27, of Newaygo County - was arrested and treated at a hospital for a bloody nose and facial cuts. He was later charged with assault and unarmed robbery. He is still lodged in Kent County Jail.

The former Marine, however, gets a few days in the spotlight.

Barnes said he had just withdrawn the money from a bank machine and put it in his pocket before driving to the store. Rae must have been watching as Barnes pulled the cash out of the pocket to pay for the tickets. Barnes says he remembers noticing Rae acting suspiciously in the store, asking the price of different brands of cigarettes and other items.

Barnes was a regional runner-up in a Golden Gloves competition in the novice and open divisions before enlisting in the Marines in 1956.

(The Associated Press contributed to this story)