NORTHAMPTON — Police arrested a 23-year-old city man in connection with a report of a robbery in which an elderly man said he was robbed of $60 cash in his own apartment.

The 68-year-old man told Northampton police Thursday that a young man in his 20s entered his Walter Salvo House apartment, demanded a glass of water and then tackled him to the floor before making off with his wallet containing cash and credit cards, according to court records.

The man couldn’t be sure of the identity of the person who he said barged into his apartment that evening just before 8 p.m. But the same man, he told police, had been knocking on his door “for weeks,” each time asking for money. And each time, police said, the elderly man would give him a dollar.

On Thursday, the door-knocker returned, police said. Again, the elderly man gave him a dollar. Except after he handed over the change, police said the man let himself into the apartment and asked for a cup of water.

After the elderly man complied with the water request, he told police, the other man “bear-hugged” him, tackling the elderly man to the floor and taking his wallet and cell phone.

The elderly man rushed to nearby apartment where he phone 911. Once police arrived, they located a man in the complex in a nearby unit matching the alleged assailant’s description.

Dave D. Orzel-Parent, 23, who lists his address as the streets of Northampton, was arrested and charged with robbery on a person older than 60 and assault and battery on a person older than 60. He pleaded not guilty Friday in Northampton District Court to the charges. Orzel-Parent’s next court date is Nov. 30.

Orzel-Parent told police he’d been in another apartment in the same building “smoking and drinking,” according to court records.

Orzel-Parent said he’d known the elderly man because he previously agreed to fix a box fan for him for $20. Meanwhile, the elderly man told police that Orzel-Parent had sold him the same fan, police said.

The wallet, however, was later recovered in a fire-extinguisher case inside the apartment building, police said. The credit cards were all accounted for, and the cash removed.

Michael Majchrowicz can be reached at mmajchrowicz@gazettenet.com.