HOUSTON -- Harris County sheriff's deputies need help finding a man who told his victim he was committing a robbery because of the state of the economy, KPRC Local 2 reported Wednesday.

The Holiday Inn Express in the 12900 block of West F.M. 1960 in northwest Harris County was robbed at about 3 a.m. on May 6.

Detectives said the robber went in the front door, jumped the counter and used a screwdriver to threaten the clerk while he demanded cash.

The clerk told deputies that she begged the robber not to harm her. She said he told her he wasn't going to hurt her and that the robbery was "about the recession."

The man pulled the cash box from the drawer, jumped back over the counter and fled, deputies said.

Surveillance video showed the man getting out of the passenger side of an older-model tan or beige two-door Oldsmobile Cutlass before going inside the motel.

The man was described as Hispanic, 18 to 20 years old, 5 feet 6 inches to 5 feet 8 inches tall with a slender to average build. He was last seen wearing a red and gray hooded sweatshirt, dark pants, white striped Puma athletic shoes and a dark cloth covering his face.

A $5,000 reward was offered for information leading to the arrest and charges being filed against the robber. Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 713-222-TIPS.