11/4/09
Orange County, Florida
From November 3, 2009 WFTV channel 9:
The hotel's security camera caught the clerk in action, facing down an armed robber.
Just before midnight, a man with a black t-shirt over his face pulled a pistol and demanded cash. But less than 20 seconds into the holdup, the clerk grabbed the bandit's gun and shot at him. He missed and the suspect got away with the money, but police say he left behind plenty of evidence.
Labels: business robbery, defender's gun taken away and used against him, FL
Yantley, Alabama
From October 22, 2009 WTOK channel 11:
Authorities finally released the name of the person killed in an attempted robbery Tuesday morning in Yantley, Ala.
19-year-old Daniel Law, Jr., was shot and killed Oct. 20 when officials say he tried to rob the Citgo store on Highway 10.
Law was a 2009 graduate of Choctaw County High School.
Investigators say the owner of the store fired the fatal shot. No charge was filed.
The case will be presented to a grand jury.
Labels: AL, business robbery
10/17/09
Shrewsbury, Pennsylvania
From the York Daily Record of October 16, 2009
Shots thwart Shrewsbury jewelry store heist
Two people attempting to rob a Shrewsbury jewelry store Friday night were chased away when the store owner fired a shot at one of them, according to Southern Regional Police.
Chief James Childs said a man and woman walked into Alexander's Jewelry in the 400 block of South Main Street shortly before 8 p.m.
The woman brandished a gun, and the man attempted to put a pair of "flex" handcuffs on a customer - there were two customers and two employees in the store at the time - Childs said.
As the robber tried to put the handcuffs on the customer, the two got into a scuffle.
At that point, store owner Ken Zampier pulled out a gun and fired a shot at the female robber, Childs said.
Police believe the first shot might have hit the woman.
Both robbers took off, the chief said, and Zampier fired a second shot.
The man and woman were last seen running on South Main Street in Shrewsbury.
Police believe the woman might have ended up at a hospital in the Baltimore or Baltimore County area with a gunshot wound. Police in Maryland were also looking into a 911 radio report of a woman being dropped off in Baltimore County with a gunshot wound.
None of the customers or the employees at the store were injured in the robbery attempt, Childs said.
Stewartstown Police and the York County Forensics Unit were called to the scene to assist.
Labels: business robbery, PA
10/12/09
Griffen, Georgia
From MyFoxAtlanta of October 8, 2009
Bank Manager Pulls Gun on Armed Robber
A former bank manager said Thursday that a life or death decision got him fired. The manager said he pulled a gun on a bank robber and fired shots at him, forcing the robber to flee. Police credited the manager's actions to the arrest of the suspect William Hunt.
Wesley Hallman said it was common knowledge that he carried a pistol. The former manger said he felt safer with the gun when he opened the bank.
Hallman said when he saw a would-be robber holding a gun in an employee's face, he challenged the man with his gun.
The robber turned, so Hallman said he fired a shot. The robber fired a shot, ran and then fired two more shots
Hallman said he was called into the bank the next day and fired. Hallman said there is a bank policy that employees can't carry weapons. The former branch manager said he knew violated company policy but he didn't violate the law.
Labels: business robbery, GA
10/10/09
Escondido, California
From the North County Times of October 9, 2009
Man wrestles rifle from would-be robber
A store manager wrestled a loaded rifle from an unsuccessful thief Friday morning, then managed to get his license plate number after the robber tried to flee but got stuck in traffic.
Rodolfo Evaristo, 40, said all he could feel was fear as he stared down the barrel of a rifle at his store, Lopez Market, on 200 West El Norte Parkway. The robber had come in the front, but seeing no one there, had walked to the back of the store and demanded Evaristo give him cash. Evaristo put up his hands and begged the masked gunman not to shoot. Evaristo's brother, Simon Evaristo, 50, also witnessed the incident.
Without getting any money, the robber then tried to flee out the back door. He took one hand off the gun to try to push open the fire door, not realizing it was deadbolted below. With the gun down, and confident that his brother would back him up, Rodolfo Evaristo decided to make his move. He grabbed the rifle with both hands and managed to wrestle it away from the would-be robber while screaming for someone to call the police. The thief then unlocked the door and ran to a Jetta parked behind the store.
Evaristo was able to write down the car's license plate number, he said, because it got stuck in traffic on Escondido Boulevard.
An hour later, police found an abandoned Jetta with matching plates on the south side of town. Police eventually arrested Jose Zardon, 47, of Escondido and booked him on suspicion of armed robbery and assault with a deadly weapon. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is also investigating Zardon's immigration status.
Labels: business robbery, CA, criminal's gun taken away and used against him
10/7/09
Newport News, Virginia
From October 6, 2009 WVEC channel 13:
NEWPORT NEWS – The red exterior is unassuming, rather plain, but for David White, the neighborhood store on Chestnut Avenue is the way the 62-year-old has supported his family for decades. When two people tried to rob him and a worker Friday night, White protected himself, the employee, and his business.
As one of the people pointed a shotgun at them, Newport News officers say Barry Hooker started to move behind the counter. White pulled a gun and shot Hooker, putting him in the Intensive Care Unit of a hospital.
...
In February, White found himself in a similar situation. Police tell us a teenager with a gun entered the grocery store with the intention of robbing it. He got into a struggle with a customer or worker, and his gun fired, putting a bullet in the ceiling. White pulled out his own gun, and hit the 16-year-old in his backside.
...
Newport News police officers say Hooker had outstanding warrants for assault and battery at the time of the attempted robbery. Checking on-line court records, 13News found he also has a long criminal history.
Detectives are looking for the person with the shotgun who was with Hooker at the time of the incident. They say he was a dark-skinned black man, 160 pounds, 5’10” tall with a goatee.
Labels: business robbery, VA
Akron, Ohio
From the October 3, 2009 Akron Beacon Journal:
A Chicago man suspected in an attempted armed robbery was shot and killed Thursday night in what Akron police are calling a confrontation with the owner of a neighborhood market at Raymond and Campbell streets.
Akron Police Lt. Rick Edwards said the store owner, Ali Ahmed, 59, had closed for the night and was walking to his vehicle in the rear parking lot at about 7:30 when the suspect approached.
There was an exchange of gunfire — witnesses reported seven or eight shots — and both men were hit, Edwards said.
Ahmed was taken by ambulance to Akron General Medical Center with wounds that were not life threatening, Edwards said.
A hospital official declined Friday to release any details about Ahmed's condition.
Edwards, the department's spokesman, identified the robbery suspect as Timothy Grant, 29, of Chicago's west side. He said Grant died at 9:04 p.m. Thursday at Akron General from unspecified gunshot wounds.
According to police radio traffic moments after the shooting, one man was shot in the head and the other in the hand.
Grant's mother, Sharon Grant, 50, said in a phone interview from her Chicago residence that her son was visiting an aunt in Barberton — his second trip there in the past year — and that she talked to him by phone about noon Thursday.
She said he asked to be wired some money for a bus ride back home and that she was preparing to do that when hospital officials called and said her son was deceased.
Labels: business robbery, defender shot, OH
9/16/09
Kenosha, Wisconsin
From WKOW of September 10, 2009
Jewelry store owner won't face charges for shooting robber
The jewelry store owner who shot an armed robbery won't face any charges.
Assistant District Attorney Richard Ginkowski says the owner of the Jewelry Exchange in Kenosha was acting in self-defense on Wednesday when two men walked into his store and one pointed a handgun at him. The store owner pulled his own gun out from under the counter and shot the armed man in the chest.
Both suspects the store, and a police officer found the injured man about a block away.
The injured man is recovering at a hospital. Ginkowski says the man, a 29-year-old from Zion, Ill., is likely to face robbery charges. Police are still looking for the other suspect.
Labels: business robbery, WI
9/3/09
Memphis, Tennessee
From My Fox Memphis of September 2, 2009
Clerk Shoots Would-Be Robber
No charges have been filed yet in a deadly Wednesday morning shooting in Northeast Memphis. Witnesses said a store clerk had to protect himself from a would-be robber, who was armed with a taser. Tonight, the man police say was trying to rob the store is dead.
Before crime scene tape and squad cars covered Lana's parking lot Wednesday morning, a strange looking man caught Gary Belcher's attention.
"He had the most coldest look on his face," Belcher said.
Belcher said he was picking-up trash when a man passed him and walked inside Lana's Market on Macon Road. Then, he said, he heard two gun shots. He ran into the store where he saw his friend, the store clerk, standing behind the counter.
"He had a gun in his hand and he was saying, 'help me Gary, help me.' I couldn't see the guy. At about that time, I [saw] a hand come up behind the counter, he was behind the counter and trying to grab for the gun," Belcher recalled.
Belcher said the would-be robber used a taser on the clerk before he was shot, "He tasered [him] all over his head and his back nowl"
Memphis Police said the robber later died at the hospital. Riyad Ghosheh said he's the clerk's cousin and a store owner himself. He said store owners in Memphis have no choice but to arm themselves at work. Ghosheh thinks current deterrents are not working, "If they do heavy, heavy punishment on the robbery, nothing will happen. But if he [robs] somebody the next day, a 100-dollar bond, he's out of jail. That's the problem, the punishment is not heavy."
Business is back to normal at Lana's. Belcher said he'll have no problem coming back to work. He'll just keep a look-out.
Police officers say they are still investigating this case.
Labels: assault, business robbery, TN
9/2/09
Phoenix, Arizona
From the Arizona Family of September 1, 2009
Police arrest 2nd suspect in Phoenix pawn shop robbery
Police said Tuesday that they have arrested the second suspect involved in an armed robbery at a Phoenix pawn shop over the weekend.
Det. James Holmes said detectives caught up with that suspect early Monday morning. The 17-year-old Hispanic male has been booked into the Juvenile Detenetion Center, but investigators are not releasing his name.
Detectives say that teen suspect and another man, now identified as George Luis Villa Nueva, tried to rob the Central Pawn Shop near 41st Avenue and Indian School Road Sunday morning.
One of the suspects, police have not said which, held a gun on a 15-year-old employee.
Sgt. Andy Hill said that's when the store's manager pulled a gun of his own and fire several shots, hittine Villa Nueva, 21, in the head. He later died.
The teen suspect flad the scene in a vehicle belonging to a store customer.
Police say the investigation is ongoing.
Labels: AZ, business robbery
8/15/09
Houston, Texas
From KHOU of August 15, 2009
Clerk armed and ready for robbers, kills one
Life can change in a second. It can also end. Cell phone store owner, Javid Iqbal saw both on Wednesday afternoon, in just 17 seconds.
“It is a part of my life that I will have to remember all of the time,” Iqbal recalls.
It was amazingly fast. Security video released to 11 News showed Iqbal behind the elevated counter, when the would-be robbers rush the store.
Two men with bandanas covering their faces, the leader gun in hand, vaulted over the case.
But in the five seconds that it took, Iqbal was already around the corner in the back, gun in hand.
“I see that guy come in the back pointing a gun. I just started shooting,” Iqbal says.
The two men were just inches apart, arms and guns extended. Iqbal fired three times, hitting 34-year-old Bryan Thorn.
Both robbers tried to flee after shots were fired, the second (still unidentified) man made it out, but Thorn did not. He collapsed dead in the doorway.
Iqbal said he could only think about the three most important people in his life, “I was thinking about my family; my little girl, my wife, my father,” he said.
All of them were within six feet of the shooting in the back of the store.
“My little three-year-old girl was in the store playing on the computer. The first thing wasn’t mine. I have to save my family,” Iqbal said, recalling the 17 seconds he will never forget.
This isn’t the first time. This store’s prior owner back in 2005 was also the victim of multiple robberies. One of those resulted in a shootout, which was also captured on video.
Not long after that, the owner-who was held up by three men and was not hurt- would sell this store to Iqbal.
Iqbal went on to do great business; but not all for profit, sometimes it came at a price. In all he’s been robbed four times, but no suspects were ever caught.
That is why his wife forced him to buy a gun and learn how to use it.
“Four robberies? Now I am not going to go through that again. All this happens. I have to take a stand somewhere,” Iqbal says.
The store is now open again after the shooting. His customers are standing with him.
“What if a stray bullet would have hit their daughter or hit his wife? Oh I’m sorry? For $20? Come on man,” said Carl English, who was in to pay his cell bill.
The store is still open, but Iqbal doesn’t know how long that will remain. He is now looking for a new, safer location.
Iqbal said that being robbed four times in a little over a year is all that his family can take. They are planning to move on soon.
Labels: business robbery, TX
8/14/09
Miami, Florida
From the Miami News Times of August 4, 2009
South Florida Store Clerks Go Vigilante
It was pouring rain just after 1 p.m. Monday, July 20, when a man burst into a Honduran grocery store on NW 36th Street in Miami. A shirt was wrapped around his face as he gripped a black semiautomatic handgun. Twenty-year-old Charles Bell shoved the pistol into the face of a manager behind the counter. Then he demanded the contents of the cash register and cartons of cigarettes in a plastic bag.
Next he began herding customers to the back of the small market.
But when he returned to the counter to collect his loot, a short, well-built 24-year-old manager named Valentin Fiallos pointed a .38 and squeezed the trigger. As Bell scampered from the store, he turned and shot back several times. Fiallos, shielding himself, squeezed off several more rounds.
The would-be robber missed every time, but the manager's aim was true. Bell burst out of the store and ran several steps before flopping onto the wet asphalt. A bullet to the chest killed him.
Cops termed it "justifiable homicide." The ruling is backed up by former Gov. Jeb Bush's 2005 "Stand Your Ground" law, which offers wide-ranging legal protection to violent-crime victims who open fire on their aggressors before trying to make peace.
(Much More)
Labels: business robbery, FL
Beaumont, Texas
From KBMT of August 7, 2009
Store Clerk Shoots Robber
Beaumont police are looking for a man witnesses say has a gunshot wound to the arm after he robbed the Gulf Street Liquor Store in Beaumont.
Beaumont Police Officer Crystal Holmes tells KBMT 12 news around 10:30 a.m. Friday patrolmen were called to the 3000 block of Gulf Street in Beaumont where a 9-1-1 caller reported an armed robbery. The store owner told police a man with wearing a black cap, long sleeve black shirt, black baggy jeans and an orange bandanna used a large-caliber handgun in the robbery. As the robber started to leave the clerk grabbed his own handgun and chased the suspect into the parking lot. Police say the clerk told officers the suspect turned and pointed a gun in his direction so he fired a number of shots at the suspect. He said one of the slugs hit the man in the arm.
"I ran out to get his license plate," said Farid Ali who owns the Gulf Street Liquor Store in Beaumont. "When he saw me he tried to shoot me and that is when I shot back."
Although he and witnesses say the suspect was hit, there was no evidence found at the scene to show that a bullet had actually hit the man.
The suspect fled the scene in a green Ford Mustang with a ragtop.
A witness to the robbery followed the green Mustang through the North end of Beaumont until it reached Lucas. The witness last saw the car heading west on East Lucas near the railroad tracks and Helbig Road.
At 12:45 p.m. officers found the suspect car in the 5000 block of Landry. Police obtained a search warrant and found the suspects bloody clothing. Police also searched his car where they discovered blood stains and bullet holes on the side of the car.
Police say they used K-9 unit to track his footsteps which led police to Pine Burr. Police believe the man was picked up there by a friend or family member.
Authorities say they know the suspects identity but they are not going to release his name until they obtain a warrant for his arrest.
Officer Holmes is asking anyone that spots the suspect to call police rather than approach the man. Information that leads police to the suspect could earn a tipster a Crime Stoppers cash reward of up to $1,000. The number to Beaumont Police Dispatch is 409-832-1234.
Labels: business robbery, TX
Charleston, South Carolina
From the SC Now of August 14, 2009
Husband, wife hold off robber until police arrive
An Horry County husband and wife fight off would-be robber inside their business.
According to a press release, a man tried to rob Ron’s Busy Corner, 5709 Juniper Bay Rd, Conway, Thursday afternoon when he placed a knife to the back of the store’s owner.
Police said Roger Lee Green, 34, of Galivants Ferry came into the store and pointed a knife to the back of the store owner while he was sitting at a table.
The owner stood up, struggled with Green, along with a customer, and took the knife away.
The owner’s wife was then able to get a pistol and hold the man there until police arrived.
Green is currently in J. Ruben Long Detention Center charged with Armed Robbery.
Labels: assault, business robbery, female, SC
Harlem, New York
From the New York Times of August 13, 2009
Harlem Store Owner Shoots 4 Robbers, Killing 2
They strode into the restaurant supply store in Harlem shortly after 3 p.m. on Thursday, four young men intent on robbery, one with a Glock 9-millimeter pistol, the police said. The place may have looked like an easy mark, a high-cash business with an owner in his 70s, known as a gentle, soft-spoken man.
But Charles Augusto Jr., the 72-year-old proprietor of the Kaplan Brothers Blue Flame Corporation, at 523 West 125th Street, near Amsterdam Avenue, had been robbed several times before, despite the fact that his shop is around the corner from the 26th Precinct station house on West 126th Street.
There were no customers in the store, only Mr. Augusto and two employees, a man and a woman. The police said the invaders announced a holdup, approached the two employees and tried to place plastic handcuffs on them. The male employee, a 35-year-old known in the community as J. B., struggled with the gunman, who then hit him on the head with the pistol.
Watching it happen, Mr. Augusto, whom neighborhood friends call Gus, rose from a chair 20 to 30 feet away and took out a loaded Winchester 12-gauge pump-action shotgun with a pistol-grip handle. The police said he bought it after a robbery 30 years ago.
Mr. Augusto, who has never been in trouble with the law, fired three blasts in rapid succession, the police said, although Vernon McKenzie, working at an Internet company next door, heard only two booms, loud enough to send him rushing to a window, where he heard someone shout: “You’re dead! You’re dead!”
The first shot took down the gunman at the front. He died almost immediately, according to the police, who said he was 29 and had been arrested for gun possession in Queens last year and was the nephew of a police officer.
Mr. Augusto’s other two blasts hit all three accomplices, who stumbled out the door, bleeding.
One of them, a 21-year-old, staggered across 125th Street and collapsed in front of the General Grant Houses, a nine-building complex with 4,500 residents, one of the city’s biggest housing projects. Someone called 911, and an ambulance rushed him to St. Luke’s-Roosevelt Hospital Center, where he was dead on arrival. The police said he had a record of arrests for weapons possession and robbery.
Another wounded man left a blood trail that the police followed to 125th Street and Amsterdam Avenue. The fourth wounded man was picked up, on the basis of witness descriptions, at 128th Street and St. Nicholas Terrace. Both were taken to St. Luke’s.
The names of the men who were shot — two dead and two wounded — were not immediately released by the authorities. The two at the hospital, both 21 years old, were in stable condition late Thursday night, the police said.
(Much more)
From the New York Times of August 14, 2009
Back at Work, Harlem Store Owner Recounts Shooting
A day after shooting four men who tried to rob his restaurant supply store, killing two of them, Charles Augusto Jr., 72, was back at work in Harlem on Friday morning. His feelings the day after he pulled the trigger? “I wish I didn’t need to,” he said.
Mr. Augusto, who goes by Gus, opened the shop, the Kaplan Brothers Blue Flame Corporation, at 523 West 125th Street, near Amsterdam Avenue, at 8 a.m. He was accompanied by an employee who had been hit with a pistol during the robbery Thursday afternoon. After the employee was struck, Mr. Augusto picked up his shotgun and fired it three times.
The shots killed two men, James Morgan, 29, and Raylin Footman, 21, and wounded two others, Bernard Witherspoon and Shamel McCloud, both 21, the police said. The two survivors are being charged with robbery, the police said.
Mr. Augusto said he had bought the gun, a Winchester 12-gauge pump-action with a pistol-grip handle, after a robbery 20 years ago and had a permit for it. “Not even touched in 20 years,” he said. “Not even touched. I wish I didn’t need to.”
The employee, who goes by J. B. and declined to give his last name, said that he “lost my mind” while the robbers tried to restrain him with duct tape, and that when he struggled, he was hit with the pistol. “Better him with a tag on his toe than my mother planning a funeral for me,” he said of the gunman.
Labels: business robbery, NY
8/13/09
Macon, Georiga
From Macon.com of August 5, 2009
Accused robber shot by Macon store employee
A 19-year-old man has been charged with aggravated assault and armed robbery in connection with a Saturday night robbery at a Fort Hill neighborhood store, Macon police said.
Laadrian Javonte Wilson is being held at the Bibb County jail without bond, according to jail records.
Three men entered the store at 406 Woolfolk St., at about 10:30 p.m., according to a police report.
One of the men pointed a gun at a store worker. A second store worker picked up a shotgun. He and the alleged robbers fired shots at each other, according to the report.
The three men ran north on Woolfolk Street. Minutes later, police received a radio call about a man with a gunshot wound at The Medical Center of Central Georgia, according to the report.
Sgt. Melanie Hofmann said Wilson was shot in the buttocks and was arrested at about 4 p.m. Monday upon his release from the hospital.
Labels: business robbery, GA
Walker County, Alabama
From the Birmingham News of August 3, 2009
Bingo hall robber shot and killed by security guard in Walker County, Alabama
A Walker County man who authorities say shot up a bingo hall Saturday night during a robbery was shot and killed by a security guard, according to the Walker County sheriff.
William G. Cantrell Jr., 43, was declared dead at the scene after he was shot multiple times by a security guard at It's Your Lucky Day Charity Bingo at 20 Pineywoods Sipsey Road, Walker County Sheriff John Mark Tirey said.
According to Tirey, Cantrell entered through the front door around 11 p.m., fired his shotgun into the ceiling and yelled: "This is a robbery. Everybody get out of here." As he headed toward the cashiers' cages, Cantrell fired more shots at the ceiling, then fired at a cashier's cage and a safe, Tirey said. As two security guards approached, Cantrell turned his gun toward them and one of the guards shot him multiple times, the sheriff said.
Security cameras captured much of the scene, Tirey said. Authorities also interviewed about 40 to 45 witnesses, he said.
"It is a regrettable situation," Tirey said. "We're very fortunate we didn't have a lot of injuries. The potential was there."
Tirey said Cantrell arrived at the bingo hall in a vehicle he had stolen a couple of hours earlier. He robbed a Jasper business of the vehicle around 8:40 p.m., the sheriff said.
Labels: AL, business robbery, private security
Port Richmond, Pennsylvania
From WPVI of August 9, 2009
Would-be thief shot inside pizza shop
A pizza shop owner in Philadelphia fought back when a man tried to rob him at gunpoint.
The attempted robbery happened inside Tony's Place pizza shop on the 2900 block of Frankford Avenue in the city's Port Richmond section.
Police say an armed gunman walked into the pizza shop at 11:45 Saturday night demanding money, but the owner pulled out his own gun and shot the robber in the back.
The would-be thief is now in critical condition at Temple University Hospital.
Labels: business robbery, PA
Shreveport, Louisiana
From the Shreveport Times of July 22, 2009
No charge against business owner who shot intruder
No charge is expected to be filed against the owner of Central Station who fired a shot at an intruder when the man lunged at him Tuesday afternoon.
"We're not new to this," Joseph Giglio, 68, of Shreveport, said of someone breaking into the defunct railroad terminal-turned-bar. The business in the 1000 block of Marshall Street has been burglarized 20 or 30 times, he said.
None of the previous burglaries ended in a shooting, Giglio said.
Jason Funderbunk, 35, hometown unavailable was rushed into emergency surgery at LSU Hospital in Shreveport in serious condition for treatment of a gunshot wound to his torso, according to a Shreveport Police Department news release.
Funderbunk was charged with one count of burglary and placed in police custody at the hospital Tuesday night. Hospital officials said they could release no information about his condition because of his status as a prisoner.
The security company that monitors Central Station detected an intruder in the unoccupied business shortly before 4:30 p.m. and alerted Giglio, who was at another of his operations, a plumbing outlet, according to police. Giglio armed himself and he and an unidentified bartender went to the bar, authorities said.
Giglio found someone hiding behind the counter and him to get on the ground while he called police, Giglio and authorities said.
Instead, the intruder leapt over the counter toward Giglio and tried to disarm the business owner. Giglio said he held the man away from the weapon with one arm and fired one shot.
"I tried to shoot him in the leg, but I don't know where I got him," Giglio said, explaining that police soon arrived and whisked him into a police cruiser.
The intruder "apparently entered the structure through a hole in the roof and was burglarizing the business there," the police news release states.
Giglio alleged the intruder was attempting to access the cash register and safe, which are behind the counter.
The intruder did not brandish any type of weapon, Giglio said, but didn't "leave me much choice."
Labels: business robbery, LA
Houston, Texas
From KTRK of August 13, 2009
Store owner fatally shoots would-be robber
Police say a cell phone store owner took action when two people tried to hold up his northeast Houston business.
According to the store owner, two men walked into his store on Laura Koppe near Lockwood around 5pm yesterday and tried to rob him. That's when he says he pulled out a gun and fatally shot one of the suspects.
The other suspect got away.
Labels: business robbery, TX
8/11/09
Las Vegas, Nevada
From KOLO of August 11, 2009
Liquor Store Clerk Wounded Would-be Robber
Las Vegas police say a liquor store clerk gunned down during a botched robbery Friday night shot one of his assailants. The Clark County coroner's office identifies the dead clerk as 62-year-old Arthur Miller of Las Vegas. Police arrested his two alleged assailants - 24-year-olds Antonio Duenas and Michael Cruz - at a hospital where Duenas was treated for a gunshot wound to the abdomen. They're due in court tomorrow
Labels: business robbery, defender killed, NV
7/29/09
Detroit, Michigan
From July 23, 2009 channel 4:
DETROIT -- The victim of an armed robbery shot and killed his robber Thursday morning, police said.Police said an armed man attempted to rob a cab driver at the Citgo Gas Station on McNichols Street around 5 a.m.From the comments:
The cab driver pulled out a gun and fired several rounds, striking the thief three times, said police.
The man was transported to Detroit Receiving Hospital, where he died.
Police said the 38-year-old shooter called police to report the shooting. He is now in custody and being questioned.
Police said the cab driver had a legitimate license to carry a concealed weapon.
i helped his aunt write his obituary, and it saddened me to realize that the handful of pictures and the short paragraphs in the obituary summed up his brief life. that's it. he was only 17. i wish he had listened to his family who tried to set him straight, but in his case -- as is often the case for young, misunderstood black boys -- the streets and his "friends" were louder. we'll never know what or who freddrick could have been.
Labels: business robbery, concealed carry permit, MI, minor offender
7/19/09
Whaleyville, Virginia
From WVEC of July 16, 2009
No charges against Suffolk store owner who shot suspect
No charges will be filed against a man who shot and killed a would-be robber in his store, the Suffolk commonwealth's attorney announced Thursday.
On the morning on June 21, the alarm went off at James Durden’s Whaleyville store – J&L Food Mart.
Durden, who lives close by, grabbed a gun and went to the store. His brother told 13News that Durden opened fire because he thought the man pointed a gun at him.
That man, identified as Ernest Scott Roop, was struck four times.
Detectives determined Roop was wearing camouflage clothing with his face concealed in a "ninjna" style fashion. They also said Roop had a hunting knife and crowbar and was wearing heavy construction gloves.
In the letter to Police Chief Thomas Bennett, C. Phillip Ferguson stated, “Mr. Durden was confronted with a very dangerous situation created by Roop and was legally justified in using deadly force as he genuinely believed that Roop had a firearm and that his own life was in danger.
In addition, from a practical standpoint, convinced that a Suffolk jury would not convict Mr. Durden of criminal misconduct under the facts of this case.
Therefore, this Office declines to prosecute any charges against Mr. Durden.”
Labels: business robbery, VA
Birmingham, Alabama
From the Birmingham News of July 14, 2009
Store owner says robber shot himself
An owner of the Vineyard Food Market told The Birmingham News that a man shot himself dead as he ran after robbing the store on Tuesday night.
The owner said he fired a shot at the fleeing man, who had grabbed money in the store and ran, but he did not think he had hit him.
Police have not confirmed that account of the incident, but said the dead man had attempted to rob the store on Crestwood Boulevard.
Jerry Tucker, owner of Crestwood Antiques a few doors down from Vineyard Food Market, was called to the scene because an alarm went off at his business after a bullet went through a window. Tucker, who has been in business there for eight years, said it's a nice community, but there is a lot of crime.
Tucker said his son-in-law closed a computer store that he had owned in the same shopping center after several break-ins.
Tucker said the owners of the Vineyard are well-liked by members of the community.
"This is tragic. They are really good folks," he said.
Labels: AL, business robbery
7/12/09
Barberton, Ohio
From the Akron Beacon-Journal of July 11, 2009
Owner of store shoots robber
A Barberton store owner opened fire on two robbers Thursday night, and police believe one of them was a man whose body was later discovered outside Akron General Medical Center.
The body has yet to be identified. His accomplice has also not been identified.
Barberton Police Chief Michael Kallai said the robbery occurred at 9:30 p.m. Thursday at the 619 Brew Thru at Fifth Street Southeast and Snyder Avenue.
One of the men robbed a clerk and then, after being shot, fled with an undisclosed amount of money in a red Nissan Maxima sedan.
Police said store owner Morad A. Fares fired at the robbers. Fares, 22, declined comment Friday afternoon.
Kallai said the case remains under investigation. He said a prosecutor would ultimately decide whether Fares acted in self-defense.
Fares has told police that at least one of the robbers was armed.
Ohio law generally allows shop owners and homeowners to protect themselves when their lives are threatened.
Earlier this year, a West Akron pizza shop owner was exonerated of criminal charges by Summit County prosecutors, who ruled he acted in self-defense when he shot and killed an armed robber.
''I'm not going to say. That's up to the prosecutor,'' Kallai said of Fares. ''We're still waiting to get all the facts. We have to ID the deceased and the vehicle's driver before we make any decision.''
At about 10 p.m. Thursday, a man with bullet wounds was dumped outside Akron General. He later died.
The body remains at the Summit County Medical Examiner's Office as authorities try to identify him.
Police say the shooting victim was a light-skinned black male, standing 6-foot-2 and weighing about 200 pounds. He had a goatee and a discolored front tooth. He wore white jogging pants, a blue ''BOSS'' labeled T-shirt, a green hooded sweat shirt and a blue baseball cap.
The driver of the vehicle is described only as a white male in his 40s.
Anyone with information about the robbery is asked to contact Barberton police detectives at 330-745-2181.
Labels: business robbery, OH
Waukegan, Illinois
From the Daily Herald of July 8, 2009
Police: Man shot by store owner
A Waukegan man is in stable condition after being shot by the store owner he is charged with robbing.
Lake County Assistant State's Attorney Patricia Fix said officials are reviewing the details of the Sunday night shooting of Demitrius Newbill, 29. Newbill, who was shot in the chest, is at Vista East Medical Center.
Fix said Newbill, of the 500 block of Poplar Street, entered the Pasteleria Panaderia, 701 Yeoman St., about 8:15 p.m. The owner of the bakery told police Newbill had his left hand under his shirt and asked for a piece of paper and a pencil, Fix said.
Newbill wrote a note that said: "I have a gun. Give me all the money," and handed it to the owner, Fix said.
The owner gave Newbill all the cash in the register, Fix said, and told police he believed he saw a gun in Newbill's waistband as he did so.
Newbill then took the business telephone and cell phones from the owner and his employees, Fix said, and began backing toward the door of the store.
The owner told police he thought he saw Newbill reaching for the object in his waistband as he neared the door, so he took a .38 caliber revolver from underneath the counter and fired three times.
Police interviewed Newbill at the hospital, Fix said, and he admitted the robbery and that he told the store owner he had a gun.
Newbill, who was unarmed, has been charged with aggravated robbery and faces up to 15 years in prison if convicted.
Fix said police reports and witness statements are being reviewed to determine if anyone else will be charged.
The store owner has a current state firearm owner's identification card, Fix said.
Court records show Newbill was convicted of robbery in 2003 and placed on probation, but he was found in violation of the probation and resentenced to five years in prison.
Labels: business robbery, IL
Houston, Texas
From KIAH of July 3, 2009
Clerk Fights Back After Robbery
Gunfire broke out Friday afternoon outside a Southwest Houston mini-mart. It happened when a store clerk went after two suspects who just finished robbing him.
Amir Borhani said it was a sense of déjà vu after two masked gunmen entered his family owned convenient store and robbed him.
"I've been in it before. They tried to rob my dad out here. I was in a gun battle before. I just didn't think it would happen again," said Borhani.
Borhani said the suspects took the money in the register and ran. He grabbed his own gun and went after them - fueled in part by pure rage.
"We're a little business and we try hard to make money I am hearing about people getting robbed around here and I'm tired of it," said Borhani.
He also said he shot at the suspects twice then ran after the suspect holding the money.
"I grabbed him, held his collar, put the gun to his head and said, don't move or I'm going to shot you. At that time he starts pleading please don't shoot me. I don't," said Borhani.
He got his money back, but the suspect wasn't going down so easily.
Borhani said, "He grabs my hand, knocks the gun out of my hand we both dive to the floor."
The two struggled for the gun, but Borhani managed to grab it and throw it out of reach. The suspect fought off Borhani and ran. He got away but ran into a minor roadblock.
"I was just driving down the street, and the guy just crossed. I couldn't break so I hit with my truck," said George Garcia.
Garcia was passing by when the suspect ran in front of his truck. Garcia tried to help but was shot at as the suspect limped away into the waiting get-a-way car with his accomplices.
The suspect may have gotten away, but one of them likely left a clue to their identity behind.
"I think we got enough evidence," said Sgt. James Welborn with the Houston Police Department.
Welborn said the suspect likely left a fingerprint when he bounced off Garcia's truck, "If they've ever been handled before with fingerprint evidence, and the descriptions we got I don't think we should have a problem."
Witnesses described the suspect's get-a-way vehicle as a dark blue sedan - possibly a Honda or Toyota.
Labels: business robbery, TX
Richmond, Virginia
From the Times Dispatch of July 12, 2009
Two shot in South Richmond store
A gunman who had wounded a shopkeeper and opened fire on several customers was stopped yesterday when another man shot him at the store in South Richmond, authorities said.
The violent attempted robbery took place shortly after 1 p.m. at the Golden Food Market at 2701 Jefferson Davis Highway, the same store where another man was shot last month -- and only three blocks from the scene of another robbery in June that left a shopkeeper dead.
Owners of as many as a dozen Jefferson Davis-area businesses flocked to the scene of the shooting, and many were rattled by such a brazen daylight attack, said Councilwoman Reva Trammell, whose 8th District includes the Jefferson Davis corridor.
Trammell, who arrived outside the store shortly after yesterday's shootings, described a frenzied scene. One man told Trammell that the man who had shot the robber was a guardian angel.
"Whoever did it probably saved their lives in there," Trammell said of the shooter.
Police did not identify anyone involved in yesterday's shootings.
The man who shot the robber is a friend of the store owner, and he was wearing a holster with a Western-style revolver, said Managing Deputy Commonwealth's Attorney Tracy Thorne-Begland.
After the suspect shot the store owner and opened fire on patrons, the owner's friend shot the suspect once in the torso, took his gun and called police, Thorne-Begland said.
Thorne-Begland said it appeared that the shooting of the suspect was justified, although he emphasized that the investigation was in the early stages.
Police said they expect to file charges against the suspect.
The store owner's injuries did not appear life-threatening, authorities said, but the gunman's injuries were said to be life-threatening. No one else was hurt.
Anthony Gregory, who lives near Golden Food, said he was in the store about 15 minutes before the shootings, and that while he was there, he saw a man with a baby making a purchase.
Gregory said the owner told the baby, "Welcome to the world. This is a dangerous world, so be careful. But don't worry, God will protect you."
Police Cmdr. Steve Drew said officers had been patrolling up and down Jefferson Davis yesterday and recently have bolstered their presence in the area. He said it was unusual for a commercial robbery to happen so early in the day.
From the Richmond Times-Dispatch of July 15, 2009
Richmond Store owner grateful for man who shot robber
Three days after Mustapha Kassou was shot in an attempted robbery in his store in South Richmond, he said that he owed his life to the man who ended the ordeal by shooting the robber.
Yesterday, Kassou returned to Golden Food Market on Jefferson Davis Highway for the first time since he was shot there Saturday afternoon.
Kassou said the masked robber walked into the store shortly after 1 p.m. and seemed startled to see about eight people inside. The robber told everyone to get on the floor, and then he fired at Kassou and hit him twice, he said.
"When the guy shot me, I was waiting for him to finish me," Kassou said. "I was knocked down behind the cash register."
The other armed man pulled a six-shot revolver from his holster and told the robber to drop his weapon, Kassou said. When he didn't, authorities say, the man shot the robber once in the torso, took the robber's gun and called police.
Witnesses told police it appeared the robber ran out of bullets and tried to reload. Some people in the store told the man to finish off the robber, witnesses reported.
"Everyone was telling him to kill him," Kassou said, "but he said, 'I can't do it.'"
Saturday's incident was the second such shooting at the store in a month.
The two shootings at Golden Food and the fatal shooting of a shopkeeper last month in another store just blocks away have alarmed some nearby residents, although police say the number of violent crimes along the Jefferson Davis corridor has been declining since May.
Councilwoman Reva Trammell, whose 8th District includes the corridor, and police Cmdr. Steve Drew will hold a public safety meeting for Jeff Davis-area business owners tonight from 6 to 8 at the Satellite Restaurant, 4000 Jefferson Davis Highway.
Kassou was released from the hospital Sunday, but he was limping and in obvious pain yesterday. He sat inside his store with family members, but he kept the front door locked. He said the shootings have made him scared of almost everyone.
He said he was struggling with whether he should reopen the store. He does not know how he would support his wife and two children if he chooses to keep the store closed.
Kassou said he is considering returning to his native Morocco. He said he is an American citizen and has lived here about 20 years and loves this country.
"It's not worth it anymore," he said, adding that he will arm himself if he reopens the store.
Kassou said he still is alive because of God -- and because of the man who drew a .45-caliber Western-style revolver and ended Saturday's robbery by shooting the gunman.
"He saved a lot of lives," Kassou said. "He was like an angel who came to save everybody."
Authorities say the robber was wounded after he shot Kassou and fired on customers.
Neither Kassou nor the police would identify the man who shot the robber. Authorities said an initial investigation indicates the man acted lawfully when he shot the robber.
Police have charged James Grooms III, 30, of South Richmond with attempted robbery, use of a firearm and possession of a firearm by a felon.
He remained in critical condition last night at VCU Medical Center.
A woman who said she is one of Grooms' relatives declined to comment when reached by phone yesterday.
Labels: business robbery, VA
7/9/09
Aurora, Colorado
From the Denver Post of July 7, 2009
Aurora store owner shoots, kills robbery suspect
The owner of a check-cashing and cigarette store shot and killed an armed robber in his store early Monday afternoon, according to eyewitnesses and a vague police account.
Aurora police said they received a 911 call shortly after 1 p.m. about a gunman who attempted to rob the check-cashing store on the northwest corner of Clinton Street and East Colfax Avenue.
After investigating, police said a "possible suspect" had been shot by a person in the store.
The wounded person was driven by an unknown person to a Denver-area hospital where he died of a single gunshot wound, police said, refusing to identify the victim or the hospital where he was treated.
Police Lt. Bob Friel said detectives were hesitant to release any details until they were sure of their investigation.
However, Ryan Moench, 17, a mechanic at Muffler Pros, which his family has owned for 15 years directly across Colfax from the check-cashing store, said he heard a single gunshot, then saw two men dressed in blue running from the store, out of his view.
"I heard a shot and saw two guys running out of the store and around to the back," Moench said. He couldn't recall if one was bleeding and could give no other description.
"I could see the owner of the store in the door on the telephone. Five minutes later, the police arrived," he said.
The owner of the check-cashing business is a 56-year-old man named Tom, who has owned the business for 22 years, according to his landlord, Jim Rellos. Rellos said he couldn't remember his tenant's last name and couldn't find the lease.
"He's a good man," Rellos said. "I never have trouble with him. He runs a good business. His kid went to Machebeuf High School with one of my kids."
Friel said Tom was taken to police headquarters for questioning after the shooting.
Police also interviewed passers-by, residents and people working in the downtown Aurora neighborhood, just a few blocks west of the historic Aurora Fox Theatre.
Labels: business robbery, CO
Little Rock, Arkansas
From KTHV of July 7, 2009
Worker Shoots Burglary Suspect During Break-In
A worker at a Little Rock motorcycle dealership shot a burglary suspect early Tuesday morning.
Around 5:00 a.m., police responded to a burglar alarm at BMW Motorcycles of Little Rock on Jones Street.
An employee, Julius Ceasaer, told officers that he was sleeping in the business when he heard a loud noise. He then saw a dark colored Dodge pick up backing into the business. Ceasaer said that he grabbed his shotgun, approached the front door and saw a man looking around at some of the motorcycles that were on display.
When the suspect, 43-year-old Haywood Patterson, saw Ceasaer, he ran out of the business.
Two other suspects inside the pick up then drove away. Ceasaer saw Patterson crouching down outside. Ceasaer told police he feared Patterson may have had a weapon, so he fired shots at him.
Patterson was wounded in the upper body and face. He attempted to flee the area, but was caught shortly after. He was transported to UAMS where his injuries are life threatening.
No charges have been filed at this time and detectives are working to identify the other two suspects in the truck
Labels: AR, business robbery
Shreveport, Louisiana
From the Shreveport Times of July 9, 2009
Business owner foils robbery try
A business owner who fought back foiled a robbery try early today and may have wounded one of the men who tried to rob him, Shreveport police say.
At around 12:15 a.m., Shreveport police patrol officers were sent to Mitchell’s Transmission in the 3100 block of Morningside Drive after getting reports of an attempted robbery there. Officers learned that three men wearing ski masks, one armed with a sawed-off shotgun, had tried to rob the owner as he closed the business. The business owner said he pulled out his handgun and fired two shots at the robbers, who ran off. The business owner was not injured.
About 10 minutes later, officers got a call from Willis-Knighton Medical center on Greenwood Road where a man had shown up at the emergency room with a gunshot wound. At the hospital, officers contacted one Derrick Glover, 20, who had a gunshot wound to his abdomen. Glover told officers he had been shot by an unknown man somewhere on Kent Street. Kent intersects with Morningside in the Caddo Heights neighborhood in central Shreveport.
Detectives are trying to determine whether the robbery try and the shooting are related. People with information on either incident should call Shreveport police detectives at (318) 673-6955 or CrimeStoppers at (318) 673-7373.
Labels: business robbery, LA
Shreveport, Louisiana
From the Shreveport Times of July 7, 2009
Clerk shoots suspect during armed robbery
A suspected robber is being treated at a local hospital after being shot by a store clerk, and his accomplice is in police custody.
It happened about 7:25 a.m. at Cherokee Park Grocery store in the 300 block of North Thomas Street, north of downtown Shreveport, said Cpl. Bill Goodin, police spokesman.
Police say a clerk fired shots at two black males who entered the store with handguns and took some merchandise. One of the men was shot in the hip, Goodin said.
He is being treated at LSU Hospital in Shreveport with non-life threatening injuries. The other is being questioned by detectives.
Labels: business robbery, LA
7/1/09
Woonsocket, Rhode Island
From the Woonsocket Call of July 1, 2009
City liquor store owner outwits armed robber who threatens to kill him
The quick-thinking owner of a Social District package store turned the tables on a man who had a knife to his throat and threatened to kill him for money Tuesday, police said.
After a violent struggle with the robber, the owner of U-Save Liquors at 399 Clinton St. convinced him that he was too tired to fight anymore and he was giving up. In an attempt to put the robber at ease, John Quinn then offered him the keys to the store and invited him to lock the front doors before he looted the store.
As 20-year-old Kevin Mortimer was busy fumbling with the keys, however, Quinn, 56, slipped into his office and emerged with a Walther PPK 9mm handgun, the police said. With the firearm trained on Mortimer, Quinn reached for a phone with his free hand to call the police, at which point Mortimer ran from the store.
Moments later, Patrolmen Michael Flood and Sean Carpenter captured Mortimer on a footpath that hugs the Blackstone River, just behind the store. Mortimer was arrested after a wrestling match with his arresting officers that ended only after he was in handcuffs and leg irons, said Detective Lt. Eugene Jalette.
“They put shackles on him, and that’s not something that normally happens unless a person is really kicking,” said Jalette. “He was quite combative.”
Mortimer, of 59 Salisbury St., was charged with first-degree robbery, two counts of assaulting the police and resisting arrest. Mortimer was also booked for obstructing because he allegedly refused to identify himself after he was taken into custody. This may be Mortimer’s first arrest in Rhode Island, but Jalette said he has a lengthy criminal record in Massachusetts, where he used to live.
The run-in at U-Save began at 10:28 p.m., when Mortimer entered the store and asked Quinn where he kept the vodka, said Jalette. Quinn was showing him the brands he had in stock when Mortimer suddenly came up behind him, wrapped one arm around his waist and held a knife to his throat with the other. The owner struggled with Mortimer, causing the armed man to cut himself on the forearm with his own knife.
At that point, Quinn broke away from Mortimer, letting the robber think he had gotten the better of him, said Jalette. Mortimer allegedly told him, “I don’t want to kill you but I need the money for my rent,” said Jalette.
After the owner gave Mortimer the keys to the store, the would-be robber began attempting to lock the front door. The owner used the distraction to step into the office to get his Walther PPK, the same pocket-size handgun that British spy novelist Ian Fleming made the signature weapon of his famous fictional character, James Bond. Fleming’s influence is said to have been a major factor in the popularity of the distinctive-looking weapon, which has been around since the 1930s.
Mortimer did not require medical treatment for what was described as a small cut on his arm. After being held overnight at police headquarters, Mortimer was arraigned in District Court Wednesday and ordered held without bail at the Adult Correctional Institutions pending a review hearing on July 15, according to court records.
Quinn told The Call later that he’s been in business 13 years and he’s never been the target of a holdup before. He said Mortimer repeatedly threatened to kill him during the course of the attempted robbery because he was desperate for money, and Quinn took the threats seriously.
“What would you think if somebody has a knife to your throat and says he’s sorry, but he needs the money?” Quinn said. “I figured it was going to be me or him, and it wasn’t going to be me.”
But Quinn said he used more brains than brawn to overpower the younger man. When he broke off the struggle, Quinn convinced Mortimer that he couldn’t fight any longer because he had heart trouble and needed to a drink. Mortimer was so desperate to be in control of the situation that he actually fetched him a cup of coffee from the brew-station in the store, Quinn said.
“It’s not always the more powerful or the armed one who wins,” said Quinn. “It’s the smart one.”
**Note**
This is the first armed citizen story out of Rhode Island that the Civilian Gun Defense Blog has documented.
Labels: business robbery, RI
6/30/09
Clarksdale, Mississippi
From My Fox Memphis of June 18, 2009
Clarksdale Store Owner Kills Robber
A Clarksdale, Miss. convenience store owner shot and killed an armed robber Wednesday evening.
According to Captain Robbie Linley with Clarksdale Police, 31-year old Joey Barron held up a store with a handgun on the 1600-block of N. State Street. Barron took cash and some prescription drugs, and was then shot once by the store's owner.
Barron was transported to the Northwest Mississippi Regional Medical Center where he later died.
The store owner will not face any charges.
Labels: business robbery, MS
6/29/09
Arbitus, Maryland
From the Cantonsville Times of June 23, 2009
Guard shoots man during attempted grocery store robbery
An exchange of gunfire between a security guard and an alleged robber at the Mars Super Market on Maiden Choice Lane and Westland Boulevard, in Arbutus, Sunday evening left the alleged robber with several gunshot wounds, according to Baltimore County police.
It also left the store, at the Maiden Choice Shopping Center in the 1000 block of Maiden Choice Lane, without some of its front windows — which were boarded up Monday morning.
Neither the guard nor any customers in the store were injured, police said.
At 6:52 p.m. June 21, Jamison Harvey Johnson, 40, entered the store and “announced the robbery,” said Bill Toohey, a police spokesman.
Johnson then walked to the store’s customer service office, where he demanded and was given an undisclosed amount of cash, police said.
An armed security guard employed by Mars who was inside the store followed Johnson to the store’s entrance and confronted him, police said.
Johnson, whose address is listed as “unknown” in court records, then shot at the guard, Toohey said.
The guard returned fire and Johnson then ran into the parking lot and got into a green Honda Accord, Toohey said.
As the gunman drove away, he again fired on the security guard, who again shot back, Toohey said.
The car was found a short time later at the end of Wilton Farm Drive, in Catonsville.
Police began searching the area, using a helicopter and a K-9 unit.
A man fitting Johnson’s description was spotted walking along Kenwood Avenue, in Catonsville, with several gunshot wounds by an officer involved in the search at about midnight, almost five hours after the gunfire occurred, Toohey said.
The man was caught after a brief foot chase, police said, and taken to the University of Maryland Shock Trauma Center, where he received treatment for gunshot wounds.
Johnson was later charged with armed robbery, attempted murder and two handgun violations — one for the possession of a firearm with a felony conviction.
In 1996, Johnson, then living in the 1800 block of West Pratt Street, in Baltimore, was found guilty of robbery with a deadly weapon, according to court records.
Bail has been denied, and Johnson is being held in the Baltimore County Detention Center, in Towson.
Toohey said another man ran from the store during the incident, which “drew the interest of authorities.”
Police are “checking to see if there is any evidence that can link him to what happened,” Toohey said.
Labels: business robbery, MD, private security
Bath, South Carolina
From WRDW of June 27, 2009
Armed robbery at Twisters Ice Cream Shop, suspect arrested
A man from Bath was arrested for robbing Twisters Ice Cream Shop on 421 in Bath just after 6:45 Saturday night.
Witnesses said the suspect walked into the store armed with a gun and demanded money from the employee. He was given an undisclosed amount before being confronted by the owner's son Shannon Labord.
The suspect shot at Labord hitting the counter. Labord fired back and chased the suspect while firing several more shots to a near by trailer.
23 year old Joey Taylor was arrested.
He is charged with armed robbery, assault and battery with intent to kill and possession of a weapon during the commission of a crime.
No one was injured during the incident.
Labels: business robbery, SC
Summerfield, Florida
From the Ocala Star-Banner of June 26, 2009
Jewelry store manager fires shot at fleeing thief
Afer her father's store, Bob's Coins & Jewelry, was burglarized twice, and after hearing about jewelry stores being robbed recently in Ocala, Vickie Buxton decided to take precautions.
Buxton, general manager at the store, took concealed weapons classes and armed herself with guns she keeps at the business in case she encounters an intruder.
She did not have to wait long.
While working at the store, at 17860 S.E. 109th Ave., Suite 621, on Thursday, Buxton shot at a thief after the man entered the building with a hammer, broke a glass case and escaped with an official Vatican Treasury gold medallion worth $20,000.
"I hit the back of the truck," Buxton said, describing a bluish-purple sports utility vehicle she said the robber got into.
She said before the robber entered the store, "The vehicle sat in front for several minutes, and then it drove around the parking lot some more."
Then, she said, the suspect approached the business and pulled a bandana up to his face.
"I yell, 'Gun!,' meaning my employees know I'm going for the gun," she said.
As the robber entered the store, Buxton said she told him, "I'm going to shoot."
The man ignored her and smashed a display glass that contained coins.
Buxton tried to fire a .380-caliber handgun, but the weapon misfired.
The robber grabbed the medallion and as he was heading out the door, Buxton again tried to fire the gun, but it misfired a second time.
Buxton successfully fired a third shot, which struck the back of the SUV.
"He dropped the medallion on the ground. He then picked it up, and got in the truck," she said.
Capt. Tommy Bibb said detectives are looking for the suspect, described as a white male approximately 6-foot tall, of medium build, who was wearing a white jacket or long-sleeved shirt and camouflage short pants.
Bibb said he also wants jewelry store owners to be aware of their surroundings and be mindful of anyone who appears to be suspicious. He said the vehicle in Thursday's robbery did not have a tag.
Labels: business robbery, female, FL
Kansas City, Kansas
From the Kansas City Star of June 26, 2009
Clerk kills would-be robber and critically wounds another, police say
A Kansas City, Kan., corner-store clerk fought back when two men tried to rob him tonight, shooting and killing one suspect and critically injuring the other, police said.
Officers were called to the 5th Avenue Convenience Mart at Fifth Street and Quindaro Boulevard shortly before 7 p.m., Officer Mike Golden said.
The clerk told them two men with long guns entered the store and demanded money, Golden said. When one of the suspects fired a shot, the clerk grabbed a handgun from behind the counter and shot both suspects.
One ran halfway up the block before collapsing, dropping a gun in the middle of Quindaro. An ambulance took him to a hospital, but he died before arriving, Golden said.
The second suspect made it slightly farther and went to the hospital in a private vehicle.
The clerk, mildly injured in the scuffle, was checked by paramedics at the scene.
Detectives and crime-scene technicians were on scene investigating the incident — the sixth homicide in five days for Kansas City, Kan.
“It’s been a very busy week,” Golden said. “We don’t have an answer for why.”
Labels: business robbery, KS
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
From KOCO of June 25, 2009
Shop Owner Shoots Would-Be Robber
A jewelry store owner in Oklahoma City opened fire on a would-be robber on Thursday, sending him to the University of Oklahoma Medical Center.
Police said they were called to the scene of a shooting at Northwest 23rd Street and Villa Avenue.
“When officers arrived at this location, they did find evidence that there was some type of shooting inside this door,” said Oklahoma City police Sgt. Jennifer Wardlow. “Shots were fired.”
Police said they believe the clerk pulled out a gun from behind the counter just after the robbery began. They said the clerk told them they thought he hit the would-be robber at least once. No one else in the store was hurt.
Officers said the would-be robber ran out of the store and got into a vehicle that was waiting for him. The driver of that car took the man to the hospital, where he was listed in critical condition late Thursday.
Police said they were looking for a maroon or dark red Chevrolet HHR with Oklahoma license plate number 762XNR. They said the driver was a black female wearing glasses and a pink shirt who had her hair pulled back. Police urged anyone who saw this woman not to approach her and to call police instead.
The shooting comes about six weeks after a similar robbery and shooting at Reliable Pharmacy. Pharmacist Jerome Ersland is charged with murder in the shooting because prosecutors said he continued to fire shots after victim Antwun Parker no longer posed a threat to him.
Labels: business robbery, OK
6/25/09
Des Moines, Iowa
From the Des Moines Register of June 25, 2009
Clerk's gun scares off would-be robber
Dominic Mathew had always felt it was better to give an armed robber what they asked for.
His philosophy changed after his Food Pantry store on Lower Beaver Road was held up several times, one time with a thief behind the counter and holding a gun to his neck.
He got a handgun.
On Tuesday, the third time the store was held up, he and a robber were in a face-off with their weapons.
“The guy came in from the side (of the store)” and walked in the front door, Mathew said. “That’s where they usually come from. The guy came in with a hoodie on. It was awfully warm on Tuesday, too warm for a hoodie.”
Mathew, 30, already had his gun drawn when the robber walked in, he said. The suspect lowered his gun immediately upon seeing the handgun.
The would-be robber ran out the door.
“I didn’t want to get to this point,” said Mathew. “But there have been a lot of robberies. Times are tough. A lot of people are out of work.”
Police Chief Judy Bradshaw said detectives are still investigating. She said clerks can make a situation more dangerous by adding a second gun to the equation.
“Robbers don’t want to shoot,” Bradshaw said. “They want what they came for. From a public safety perspective there are so many more possible outcomes when clerks arm themselves.”
On Tuesday three other convenience stores in the city reported thefts from cash registers. None of them were armed robberies. One man has been arrested and charged with all three incidents.
The armed robber who tried to steal from Mathew has not been caught.
Labels: business robbery, IA
6/18/09
Roswell, Georgia
From Fox News of June 17, 2009
Cell Phone Protects Clerk From Knife Attack in Robbery
A Georgia liquor store clerk credits his police officer son with giving him two life-saving gifts — a cell phone and a gun.
Joseph Wescott says the phone he slipped into his shirt pocket stopped a knife to his chest when a robbery suspect attacked him at the store in a northern Atlanta suburb. He then reached under the counter for the .40-caliber handgun and shot the man.
"The knife that he had looked like it was about 10-foot long," the 67-year-old Wescott exclaimed.
When the suspect lunged at Wescott, he fell back and the knife struck the battery area of the phone, the clerk said. He then fired one shot at the man Monday night.
"That was the first time I had ever fired that gun," he said.
Police said Carlos JeanPeirre, 34, is recovering from non-life threatening wounds and faces multiple charges including aggravated assault and attempted robbery.
Wescott's son, Jason, said he gave both gifts to his father to keep him safe.
"Something like that can happen in a split second and it's better to have it and not need it than need it and not have it," Jason Wescott said.
After the attack, Joseph Wescot said he used his cell phone to call 911.
Labels: assault, business robbery, GA, senior
6/11/09
Long Island, New York
From the CNN of June 2, 2009
Merciful storekeeper changes robber's mind, religion
A potential victim became a compassionate counselor during a recent robbery attempt, changing the would-be criminal's mind -- and apparently his religion.
Storekeeper Mohammad Sohail was closing up his Long Island convenience store just after midnight on May 21 when -- as shown on the store's surveillance video -- a man came in wielding a baseball bat and demanding money.
"He said, 'Hurry up and give me the money, give me the money!' and I said, 'Hold on'," Sohail recalled in a phone interview with CNN on Tuesday, after the store video and his story was carried on local TV.
Sohail said he reached under the counter, grabbed his gun and told the robber to drop the bat and get down on his knees.
"He's crying like a baby," Sohail said. "He says, 'Don't call police, don't shoot me, I have no money, I have no food in my house.' "
Amidst the man's apologies and pleas, Sohail said he felt a surge of compassion.
He made the man promise never to rob anyone again and when he agreed, Sohail gave him $40 and a loaf of bread.
"When he gets $40, he's very impressed, he says, 'I want to be a Muslim just like you,' " Sohail said, adding he had the would-be criminal recite an Islamic oath.
"I said 'Congratulations. You are now a Muslim and your name is Nawaz Sharif Zardari.'"
When asked why he chose the hybrid of two Pakistani presidents' names, the Pakistani immigrant laughed and said he had been watching a South Asian news channel moments before the confrontation.
Sohail said the man fled the store when he turned away to get the man some free milk.
He said police might still be looking for the suspect but he doesn't intend to press charges.
"The guy, you know, everybody has a hard time right now, it's too bad for everybody right now in this economy," said the storekeeper.
**Note**
Regardless of the other material in this story, it cannot be ignored that this "conversion" took place at gunpoint, and upon receiving money and some goods, the "convert" fled. No reasonable person would conclude that the would-be robber's actions would have been the same if the storekeeper had not threatened him with a shotgun.
Labels: business robbery, NY
San Antonio, Texas
From WOAI of June 11, 2009
Bakery worker shoots and kills would-be robber
A man was shot and killed when police say he tried to rob a bakery.
Investigators told News 4 WOAI Roberto Adame tried to rob the Cinderella Bakery in the 1200 block of Saltillo Street on the West Side Wednesday evening.
The bakery owner's son, who was working in the back, heard screams and came out with a gun. Police say he shot Adame at least two times.
Adame took off running. Police found him a few blocks away from the bakery and called for an ambulance. He was taken to Wilford Hall Medical Center, where he later died.
The bakery owner's son is not expected to face any charges.
Labels: business robbery, TX
6/10/09
Long Beach, California
From the Press Telegram of June 9, 2009
Attempted robbery at North Long Beach pawn shop ends with robber, employee shot
Three would-be robbers stormed a North Long Beach pawn shop Tuesday morning armed with one gun and a lot of bravado.
When the suspects fled Long Beach Pawn & Jewelry, however, all they had to show for their efforts was a bullet from the shop supervisor's gun lodged in one suspect's leg, witnesses said.
The 64-year-old supervisor from Long Beach was also shot, and hit in the face, but is expected to survive, authorities said.
Police at the scene said the suspects clearly picked the wrong target, which is at 5106 Long Beach Blvd.
"I mean, who's stupid enough to try and rob a pawn shop?," said one witness, who spoke on condition of anonymity. "They have tons of security, it's covered in cameras, who doesn't know that?"
The witness told the Press-Telegram that he was walking into the pawn shop to pay his bill when the armed suspect walked in right before him. He recalled the gunman vividly due to his custom-looking, three-piece white suit, which looked like it belonged in church more than a pawn shop.
"(The shop's employees) even complimented him on his dress," the witness recalled, saying the suspect asked a female employee to show him some rings because he was shopping for his girlfriend.
After she took the armed man to the back of the shop, the other two suspects - dressed in casual clothes - rushed in, the witness said.
One man jumped the counter and the other stayed by the front door as the armed suspect ordered everyone on the floor. That prompted the shop's supervisor - who the witness knew only as Bob - to confront the trio, the witness said.
As the other employees ran to the back of the store and customers hit the ground, the shop's supervisor and the gunman faced off and both opened fire, the witness said.
The supervisor was shot in the cheek and fell back while one of the suspects was hit in the leg, the witness said.
"After the first shots I heard three more shots, and then (the suspects) crawled out of there," the witness said.
"They got nothing...but one of them left his gun behind," he added.
Long Beach police were called to the business at about 10:30 a.m. and confirmed an employee was shot but did not release any information about the shootout or the extent of the victim's injuries.
Long Beach Fire Department paramedics treated the victim at the scene and took him to a hospital. He was listed in mild distress and stable condition, said Capt. Jackawa Jackson.
The witness said that a river of blood gushed from the victim's cheek wound, prompting the witness to take off his shirt and use it to apply pressure to the wound while he talked to a 911 operator.
"He was saying 'I can't feel my arms, I can't feel my legs, I'm going to pass out, I'm going to die!" the witness recalled. "He was (going into shock) but we were able to keep him with us."
After the shooting, several people were seen inside the pawn shop talking with police. Shattered glass was scattered everywhere from the gunshots.
Detectives were checking security camera footage at the shop and other businesses in the area to help identify the suspects, said officers at the scene.
A search area was set up immediately after the botched robbery, but as of 5 p.m. the suspects were still at large, said Officer Jackie Bezart, an LBPD spokeswoman.
The three suspects were described as black males in their 20s, Bezart said.
Witnesses said the two suspects who were not armed were wearing sweat shirts with hoods and said the supervisor who was shot was an older man known to wear his gun in a holster while working in the shop.
They also said there were several more guns behind the counter, but that none of the other employees could get to the weapons because one suspect had jumped the counter and blocked their access.
"I hate to think what would have happened if Bob didn't have his gun," the witness said. "It probably would have turned into a take-over."
(More)
Labels: business robbery, CA, defender shot
Tift County, Georiga
From WALB of June 7, 2009
Kelltown convenience store robbed at gunpoint
The Tift County convenience store owner who stared down the barrel of a gun during an armed robbery tells us the thieves are now in custody.
An armed woman wearing a ski mask entered the Holiday Market of Highway 319 and demanded the clerk for money. That was when a customer already at the register pulled out his gun and shot the woman in the foot.
She dropped her gun in the store and dropped her drivers license in the parking lot as she tried to get away in a Ford F-150. A man was driving that getaway pick-up. The store owner tells us police caught up with that driver later that night.
The woman was later taken into custody after she tried to get treatment at Tift Regional hospital for her gunshot wound. The Tift County Sheriff's Office would not give us the suspects names.
Labels: business robbery, GA
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
From the Journal-Sentinel of June 3, 2009
Security guard kills would-be robber, police say
A security guard shot two men who were trying to rob a check cashing business on Milwaukee's northwest side Wednesday afternoon, killing one and injuring the other, police said.
Ronald Reed, 24, was shot in the back and collapsed in an alley behind the building at 3906 N. 76th St., where he was pronounced dead, police said.
His cousin, Vidal Mason, 22, turned up at a hospital with a gunshot wound to the abdomen and was in critical but stable condition late Wednesday.
The men were identified by family members at the scene.
Reed and Mason were arrested in 2005 for committing an armed robbery together, Assistant Police Chief James Harpole said. Both were convicted of two counts of armed robbery in 2006, according to online court records.
The men were armed with guns when they entered Check Into Cash about 3:40 p.m. and ordered everyone to the floor, including the security guard, according to Harpole and a statement from the Police Department.
One man told the other to shoot the guard, who got up and fired shots at both men, according to the statement.
"He felt that he was going to be shot or that someone else was going to be shot, so he took defensive action," Harpole said.
Reed ran from the store and collapsed in the alley, Harpole said.
Mason also ran from the store and wound up at a hospital.
No one else inside the store was injured, Harpole said. Money taken during the robbery was recovered, said the department's statement.
The security guard, who is in his 20s, was being interviewed by police, Harpole said. The preliminary investigation suggests the guard was properly licensed to carry a gun on the job, he said.
(More)
Labels: business robbery, private security, WI
Phoenix, Arizona
From the Arizona Repulic of June 6, 2009
Phoenix liquor store clerk shoots would-be robber
A Phoenix liquor store clerk shot a would-be robber Saturday afternoon, after the robber pulled a knife on the clerk, police said.
Phoenix police gave this account:
About 12:30 p.m. two men went to a liquor store, near 23rd and Northern avenues after having been there two hours before.
During the second trip to the store, one of the men stayed outside. The other asked the clerk for a piece of paper.
As the clerk was waiting on other customers, the 29-year-old suspect wrote something on the paper. After the other customers left, the suspect handed a robbery note to the clerk. The clerk acted as though he couldn't read.
That's when the suspect came towards the clerk and opened a gate, which separates the clerk from the customers, and pulled out a knife. Seeing this, the clerk grabbed a gun and shot the suspect.
The suspect ran out of the store and across the street to a friend's apartment. He knocked on the door and collapsed. The friend called 911.
Police arrived and the suspect was taken to a local hospital where he remains in critical condition.
Labels: AZ, business robbery
6/9/09
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
From the June 7, 2009 Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel:
The two men who were shot by a security guard while trying to rob a Milwaukee check cashing business last week were armed with realistic-looking BB guns, according to a Police Department spokeswoman.
Ronald X. Reed Jr., 24, was shot in the back and died at the scene, police said. His cousin, 22-year-old Vidal D. Mason, was shot in the abdomen.
The BB guns "looked very much like authentic weapons," police spokeswoman Anne E. Schwartz wrote in an e-mail.
The men also used BB guns while committing a string of armed robberies in 2005, court records show.
Reed and Mason were wearing masks when they entered Check Into Cash, 3906 N. 76th St., on Wednesday afternoon and ordered everyone to the floor, including the armed guard, police said at the time.
One cousin told the other to shoot the guard, who got up and fired shots at both men, police said.
Reed ran from the store and collapsed in a nearby alley. Mason also ran and turned up at a hospital a short time later.
The preliminary investigation suggests the guard, who has not been identified, was properly licensed to carry a gun on the job, police said.
The guard is employed by Pratt Security and Investigations. The company's president, John Pratt, said the company and its employees have the proper licenses and permits. He declined to answer questions about the robbery and shooting.
The Milwaukee County district attorney's office will review the incident Monday, Schwartz said.
Reed and Mason also were armed with BB guns when they committed five armed robberies together over four days in 2005, targeting people returning home late at night on the city's west side, according to a criminal complaint filed against them.
Both were convicted in 2006 of two counts of armed robbery, according to online court records.
Reed was sentenced by Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Elsa Lamelas to three years in state prison - with credit for 263 days for time served - and five years of extended supervision, the court records show.
He was released from prison Aug. 26, according to the state Department of Corrections.
Lamelas sentenced Mason to two years in state prison - with credit for 236 days for time served - and five years of extended supervision, according to court records.
Mason was released from prison Aug. 21, 2007, according to the Department of Corrections.
Labels: business robbery, WI
Long Island, New York
From June 2, 2009 WABC channel 7:
LONG ISLAND (WABC) -- A Long Island deli owner pulled a gun on a would-be robber and then gave him cash.
Mohammad Sohail, who owns the Shirley Express, says a bat-wielding man entered the convenience store and demanded money on Thursday, May 21, just after midnight.
Sohail responded by pulling out a rifle. The suspect then reportedly dropped to his knees and begged forgiveness, blaming the tough economy for his turn to crime.
The Pakistani immigrant, who has been on Long Island for more than 20 years, put down his gun and gave the man $40 and a loaf of bread.
"He started crying," Sohail told Newsday. "He was saying, 'I have no money. I have no food. I have no job. I have to take care of my family.'"
Sohail told the man to promise he would never rob anyone again, and then gave him the cash and bread. He says that when he went to get the man some milk, the suspect fled the scene on foot.
Sohail then called 911. Police, who confirmed the account, say the incident is under investigation.
Labels: business robbery, NY
Galveston County, Texas
From the June 3, 2009 Houston Chronicle:
Also covered by the June 2, 2009 Galveston County Daily News:A 77-year-old man was within his rights when he shot a robber during a holdup of a game room in unincorporated Galveston County, Texas City police officials said Tuesday.
“He is truly a victim whose back was against the wall,” said Texas City police Capt. Brian Goetschius, referring to Robert Hays.
Hays was among about a dozen patrons inside Players Paradise about 12:45 a.m. Monday when a pair of armed men stormed the club at 4801 State Highway 146, officials said.
Hays said he was "peacefully minding my own business'' when the armed robbers forced their way inside.
"The next thing I knew, I was essentially flying through the air backwards and slammed down on the floor,'' said Hays, a Korean War veteran.
Hays, now lying on the floor, handed the robber his wallet. "He looked through it and threw it back down on me," he said.
He watched as the robbers worked their way through the game room, taking the wallets and purses from their other victims.
A snub-nose .38 caliber revolver in his hands, Hays was ready in case the robbers came at him.
"There were only two ways he could get at me,'' Hays said. "I positioned myself on the floor where I could see him if he came either way.''
Hays pulled the revolver from under his shirt and fired a single shot, striking one of the masked robbers, Goetschius said.
"It's not an easy thing to pull a trigger on a human being,'' Hays said. "But, when that man stood over me and said, 'Give me all your money,' my blood just boiled."
The robber fell to the ground and dropped his gun, Goetschius said. “One of his shoes came off and he ran out the back door with the other suspect.”
Hays said he shot the man to protect himself and the other patrons at the game room, especially Sharon, his wife of 39 years.
"When that first man dropped his pistol and went down, she got up and grabbed (it) and was ready to back me up,'' Hays said.
TEXAS CITY — A 77-year-old Korean War veteran fired one round Monday, wounding one of two masked men suspected in the robbery of a game room on the outskirts of the city, authorities said.
There were about 12 patrons inside Players Paradise, 4801 state Highway 146 Suite B, when a frequent guest knocked on the door, Capt. Brian Goetschius of Texas City police said.
The game room, which was robbed at 12:44 a.m., was open only to members, Goetschius said.
“They looked through the monitors and recognized him as being there before,” Goetschius said. “They ordered everyone to the ground, went through several wallets and got the apron from the attendant.”
The veteran, Robert Hays of Texas City, was thrown to the ground, and then a suspect went through his wallet, Goetschius said.
“The 77-year-old concealed gun permit carrier drew his .38-caliber revolver and shot one of the crooks,” Goetschius said. “The crook immediately fell to the floor, and he dropped his gun and he lost a shoe.”
Labels: business robbery, concealed carry permit, senior, TX
5/27/09
San Antonio, Texas
From the May 27, 2009 San Antonio Express-News:
An attempted robbery at a North Side pharmacy turned deadly Wednesday morning when the business owner pulled out a gun and shot the suspected robber.
No other injuries were reported at the incident that happened about 10 a.m. at Babcock Square Pharmacy, located at the intersection of Babcock and Huebner Roads.
Police Chief William McManus said the suspect handed an employee behind the counter a note that demanded the narcotic drug OxyContin. The chief said the employee was somehow able to alert the pharmacy's owner, who retrieved his gun and confronted the suspect.
“The suspect saw his gun, and said, ‘Let's get it on,'” McManus said.
The owner, who saw a cocked revolver in the suspect's hand, pointed his gun at the suspect and shot him point-blank, McManus said. Only the owner, his wife, an employee and the robbery suspect were inside the store at the time of the shooting, according to authorities.
The chief said no charges would be filed against the owner, who was not immediately identified.
“He was in fear of his life, so this appears to be justified,” McManus said.
Labels: business robbery, TX
5/23/09
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
From the May 22, 2009 Oklahoma City Oklahoman:
Jerome Ersland was back at work Thursday filling prescriptions and hoping that by taking the life of a 16-year-old boy two days earlier, he had saved others.UPDATE: From the May 27, 2009 Oklahoma City Oklahoman:Rubbing an oversized bandage on his left forearm, where he said he was grazed by a robber’s bullet, Ersland related details of what he said was a highly organized hit on the Reliable Discount Pharmacy.
"I just regret anybody would get killed,” Ersland said. "But if I wouldn’t have been here, there would have been three people killed — the other pharmacist and the two techs.”
...
After the pharmacy near SW 59 and Pennsylvania was robbed two years ago, the owner installed new security measures to try to make sure his employees would never again be forced to a back room and pistol-whipped."We have a very good security system,” Ersland said, motioning to the magnetic door locks that won’t let anyone in or out of the store without permission. "The door locks, and they (robbers) knew that. They had cased it because they knew exactly what time to hit us when we’d have all of our narcotics out and our money out.”
About 10 minutes before 6 p.m., Ersland said, two robbers wearing ski masks waited for someone to leave the pharmacy and then grabbed the open door and threw down a board to stop the door from closing.
The robbers went in cursing and yelling, ordering employees to give them money and drugs, Ersland said.
Two women who were working behind the counter ran for a back room where they would be safe, but Ersland said he couldn’t run. Ersland said he’s a veteran with disabilities from wounds he received in Operation Desert Storm, wears a cumbersome back brace and just had his latest back surgery six weeks ago.
"All of a sudden, they started shooting,” he said. "They were attempting to kill me, but they didn’t know I had a gun. They said, ‘You’re gonna die.’ That’s when one of them shot at me, and that’s when he got my hand.”
Ersland said he was thrown against a wall, but managed to go for the semiautomatic in his pocket.
"And that’s when I started defending myself,” he said. "The first shot got him in the head, and that slowed him down so I could get my other gun.”
But as one robber hit the floor, Ersland said, a bullet from the other robber whizzed past his ear.
The pharmacist said he then got his second gun from a nearby drawer, a Taurus "Judge.”
After he had the big gun, Ersland said, the second robber ran.
But as he started to chase after the second robber, Ersland said, he looked back to see the 16-year-old he had shot in the head getting up again. Ersland said he then emptied the Kel-Tec .380 into the boy’s chest as he kept going after the second robber.
"I went after the other guy, but he was real fast and I’m crippled,” Ersland said.
Outside the pharmacy, he said he saw what he thought was a third black male in a car with the engine running and reaching for what appeared to be a shotgun.
"I pulled out my ‘Judge’ and pointed it right between his eyes and he floored it,” Ersland said.
The charge alleges Ersland shot Antwun Parker, 16, while he was incapacitated and lying on his back. Ersland’s account of the incident doesn’t match the video or the evidence collected at the scene, according to the affidavit written by Oklahoma City Police Detective David Jacobson.The surveillance video does seem to confirm that while the first shot was in self-defense, subsequent shots were not even close to being in self-defense. Nonetheless, the initial use was lawful self-defense.
Parker was shot once in the head and five times in the stomach area. The autopsy found Parker was still alive after the head shot and died from the stomach wounds.
Labels: business robbery, minor offender, OK
5/19/09
Macon, Georgia
From May 18, 2009 WMAZ channel 13:
A Central Georgia man is recovering from a gunshot wound; he got shot after robbing a Macon liquor store at gun point.
A news release from Sgt. Melanie Hofmann with the Macon Police says 50-year-old Ricky Nell Johnson robbed the ABC Liquor Store at 1194 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. on Saturday.
The release says Johnson entered the store around 6:45 p.m. wearing a wig and skirt. It says he showed a handgun, jumped on the counter and demanded money.
After getting some cash, Johnson fired a shot and ran out of the liquor store. The release says an employee returned fire.
According to the release, Johnson was found near a parking deck at the Medical Center. He was taken by ambulance to the emergency room, where doctors treated him for a gunshot wound to the torso near the buttocks.
From looking at the picture--I doubt anyone was fooled by the wig and skirt.
Labels: business robbery, GA
5/14/09
Azle, Texas
From the Azle News Online of May 9, 2009
Armed citizen takes out tires as shoplifters flee
A citizen with a “concealed-carry” handgun license shot out a tire on a car full of fleeing shoplifters, then followed them in his own vehicle Wednesday morning, helping Azle police apprehend four people who were subsequently charged with robbery.
Police officers from at least three agencies caught up with everyone in a neighborhood behind Allsup’s convenience store off Highway 199 west of Azle.
Four accused shoplifters had been spotted by employees of Albertsons grocery store and were attempting a getaway with less than $50 worth of miscellaneous items when they were spotted by a citizen in the parking lot. The citizen was carrying a properly licensed concealed weapon, Azle police chief Steve Myers said Wednesday afternoon.
The fleeing driver seemed to be headed straight for the citizen, who fired at the vehicle, striking a front tire.
Another citizen called 911 and reported “an undercover officer shooting at someone who tried to run him down,” Myers said.
That “undercover officer”, it was later discovered, was the armed citizen, Myers said. Both the caller and the “shooter” remained unidentified by police in the interest of their safety.
However, the man with the handgun got in a pickup and followed the suspect vehicle, which could no longer be driven by the time it arrived in the neighborhood, Myers said.
“I guess they thought they could turn off the highway and get lost out in the county,” he said.
However, that area is made up of just a few interconnected streets, with no other way out besides the highway, he said.
Arrested were Michael Reiser, 38, of San Angelo; Kyle Scott, 21 of Fort Worth; Jennifer Jeffrey, 35, of San Angelo; and Tami Mickey, 32, of Fort Worth.
Three of the four were apprehended at the vehicle by Azle police in the 400 block of Oakwood Street. Reiser, the driver, was caught by Azle officer Chris Negrete and a DPS trooper about 30 minutes later in the 1600 block of Willowwood Drive.
Both are off of Pearson Lane, north of the highway.
The four reportedly discarded the shoplifted items as they drove from the scene.
They will be charged with robbery, a felony, instead of shoplifting, a misdemeanor, because the car was used as a deadly weapon in their escape, Myers said.
Albertson’s is in Tarrant County, so charges will be filed with the Tarrant County District Attorney’s office even though the suspects were caught in Parker County. Azle police, Parker County Sheriff’s deputies and at least two Department of Public Safety troopers helped in the chase, Myers said.
The chief has mixed feelings about the help officers received from an armed citizen.
“Our concern in a situation like that is the number of people in the immediate vicinity of an individual who don’t have a way to know who or what he is,” Myers said.
“A uniformed officer is easily identifiable. But the public doesn’t know who (a citizen with a handgun) is, or how to help.”
On the other hand, this particular citizen did choose the most restrained use of his weapon, firing only at the tires of the vehicle and ultimately helping catch a car full of suspects.
Labels: business robbery, concealed carry permit, TX
5/6/09
Seattle, Washington
From MyBallard.com of May 5, 2009
Pistol-packing pharmacist scares away robbers
A small sign in the Bob Johnson Pharmacy window says it all: Mike Donahue does not put up with anyone trying to steal from him.
The sign lists a half-dozen people who Donahue says have tried to rob the Crown Hill pharmacy since 1988. “None of them got away with it!” the sign reads. Donahue has security cameras set up, a security system and, as he tells KING 5, he’s armed with a Glock 19 handgun under his lab coat.
This is surveillance video of Donahue chasing a would-be robber out the front door. “When someone comes in to rob my pharmacy or put my patients at risk I have something to help protect us,” he says. He’s pulled the gun on three potential thieves, most recently a few months ago.
Bob Johnson Pharmacy isn’t the only business in the area around 85th St. and 14th Ave. that’s been the target of recent crime. Crown Hill Methodist church was broken into early in the morning on Palm Sunday, and just last week, someone broke into Wild Mountain Cafe.
Labels: business robbery, WA
5/5/09
Columbus, Ohio
From May 5, 2009 WBNS channel 10, Columbus:
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Police said a man was shot when he tried to rob a northeast side gas station on Tuesday morning.The armed robber entered the BP gas station, located at 1959 17th Ave., shortly after midnight, 10TV's Tino Ramos reported.
The man confronted the clerk, who had a gun behind the counter. The clerk shot the robber and he collapsed outside.
Labels: business robbery, OH
5/2/09
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
From April 25, 2009 WTAE channel 4, Pittsburgh:
PITTSBURGH -- An alleged robber was shot inside a Northside bar Friday night, emergency dispatchers said.
Emergency dispatchers said a man was shot in the chest while attempting to rob the Cantina Lounge in the 2600 block of California Avenue.
Labels: business robbery, PA
4/22/09
Columbus, Ohio
From 10TV.com of April XX, 2009
Clerk Opens Fire On Would-Be Robber
Two men were hospitalized on Wednesday after they were shot during a hold up at a drive-thru on the city's northeast side, 10TV News reported.
The shooting occurred at about 3:30 p.m. at Dani's Drive-Thru, located near the corner of Westerville and Agler roads.
Investigators said a man walked inside and tried to rob the clerk, but the clerk produced a gun and opened fire, wounding the man in the legs, 10TV News reported.
The man was apprehended about a block away near a home on Cleveland Avenue.
The other person wounded in the shooting may have been an innocent bystander, police said.
The injuries were not considered to be life-threatening.
No other injuries were reported.
Labels: business robbery, OH
4/19/09
Atlanta, Georgia
From WSB Radio of April 19, 2009
Restaurant Manager Shoots at Would-Be Robber
The manager of a popular restaurant exchanged gun fire with a man trying to rob his store, Atlanta police said.
Authorities said a masked gunman grabbed an employee taking out the trash at the Taco Mac at 1006 North Highland Ave. around 3 a.m Sunday. The gunman was planning on robbing the place when the store's manager grabbed a gun and starting shooting at the robber. He fired back and managed to escape.
Police don't know if the suspect was shot. They are looking at surveillance tape to determine his identity.
No injuries were reported inside the restaurant.
Labels: business robbery, GA
4/18/09
Augusta, Georgia
From WRDW of April 14, 2009
Robber gets surprise when pharmacist opens fire
It was a robbery with a big surprise for the robber. A gunman walked into a CVS drugstore expecting to hold up the place. What he didn't expect was to find a pharmacist who had a gun and was not afraid to use it.
The shooting happened just after midnight at the CVS on Walton Way and 15th Street.
Investigators say this isn't the first time CVS has been robbed, but this time was different. A pharmacist fired at the suspect, protecting himself and the store.
The surveillance pictures tell the story. In a matter of seconds a masked robber wearing black enters this CVS Pharmacy and starts demanding money. Clenching a pistol, the robber gives the cashier a bag to fill and then heads towards the back.
"The suspect then asked about the register in the pharmacy and began heading back to the pharmacy," says Richmond County Sheriff's Sergeant Ken Rogers.
But Investigators say the overnight pharmacist, Michael Swindle, heard the commotion, grabbed his gun and made his way out into the store.
"The pharmacist overheard the conversation and realized the store was being robbed and he then grabbed his own 9mm weapon from his bag as he stated and confronted the suspect in one of the aisles," says Sgt. Rogers.
You can see Swindle holding a gun, going from aisle to aisle. The actual confrontation hidden from cameras. But Investigators say it sounds like the suspect was caught off guard.
"When he confronted the suspect the suspect raised his weapon at the pharmacist at which time the pharmacist fired at least three shots at the suspect which caused him to then flee the scene," says Sgt. Rogers.
The robber runs out of the store and Swindle follows after him, still carrying his gun. No one was hit or injured but Investigators say the gunfire was perfectly legal.
"With the suspect raising his arm, pointing the weapon at him -- he was within his legal right to protect himself," adds Sgt. Rogers.
CVS's corporate offices tells News 12 they are working with law enforcement and the case is under active investigation -- both by the Richmond County Sheriff's Office and by CVS.
CVS would not comment on their security policies, including if weapons are allowed by employees.
The suspect was able to get away with some money. He never let go of that purple bag he gave the front cashier and now it's a piece of evidence.
Labels: business robbery, GA
4/16/09
Omaha, Nebraska
From Action3 News of April 16, 2009
80 Year Old Store Owner Takes Gun From Would Be Robber
Talk about turning the tables. A robber walked into Sugar Hill Package Liquor near 56th and Ames Wednesday morning, probably thinking Floyd Westbrook was an easy target.
He's an elderly man working in the store by himself at one in the morning. But the robber was wrong. He's the one who ran away... afraid.
Store owner Floyd Westbrook runs his own cash register from 10:00 am until close...
That's one in the morning. and a long shift for anyone.
Floyd is 80 years old.
At closing time Wednesday, Floyd wasn't tired for his one last customer. He recalls, "The guy comes in and says 'this is stick up, gimme your money'."
A man wearing a ski mask and black gloves pulled out a gun. He wanted Floyd's hard earned cash. Floyd wanted the gun out of the robber's hands. "He had that gun sticking out right on me when I handed him the ones, I grabbed the gun. He got too close to me, " Floyd says.
You don't want to mess with Floyd. First of all, he doesn't look 80. This man stands 6'4" and weighs 230 and his own weapon.. large, strong hands. Floyd says, "When I was a young man, I could break any man's hands. I was strong in my hand."
The fast, handy move surprised and scared the robber. Floyd says, "He run yelling, 'don't shoot! Don't shoot!' and flew out that door".
As for Floyd, who looked down the barrel of the gun, he says, "I'm not scared of no man, that's the main thing. He's just a man." Floyd says, "Well, I wouldn't say he messed with the wrong man. I got lucky. Let's say it like that (laughs)."
The robber still ran off with $19. Floyd got the gun off the streets and wasn't hurt. He says when police arrived, they checked the chamber, the gun was loaded.
Labels: business robbery, criminal's gun taken away and used against him, NE
4/13/09
Columbia, South Carolina:
From WECT of April 11, 2009
Man shot, killed while trying to rob Five Pts. AA meeting
One man is dead after a shooting in Columbia's Five Points. Police say it happened when the man tried to rob people in an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting.
Blue lights and sirens are common in Columbia's Five Points on a Saturday night, but it's not usually because someone was killed.
"This is a very nice area, you know it's mostly college kids and all that, you never see that kind of trouble so yeah that was different," said a witness who does not want to be identified. "Yeah because I go there for meetings and from what I heard the guy went in there to rob somebody."
Police say just before 11pm Saturday 18-year-old Kayson Helms, of Edison, N.J., walked into an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting at the ACOA Club, pulled out a handgun and demanded money.
That's when an AA member pulled out a gun of his own and shot first.
The witness we talked to was standing right outside, and saw Helms run out of the building.
"But he only made it like a hundred feet up and collapsed," the man said.
Helms died at the hospital. He had been shot in the neck, abdomen and chest. The whole incident is alarming to those that live nearby.
"There are times where I tell myself, no, I'm not going to walk down there with my child at this point in time," says resident Andrea Richardson.
The shooting happened right in the Richardsons' backyard.
"Listening to the TV and I heard three pops in rapid succession," says Christopher Richardson.
But some people in Five Points had no idea.
"A little nervous I guess that it happened right around the corner from where we were last night, and I had no idea about it, so I didn't know that kind of threat was around this area," says Aleksas Juskys.
It's a threat people that those that go to the ACOA Club never thought they would have to deal with.
"It's the most pleasant place you can go if you're in recovery," says the witness.
Police say the person who shot Kayson Helms is not facing any charges. They say he has a valid concealed weapons permit.
The shooting remains under investigation.
Labels: business robbery, concealed carry permit, SC
4/5/09
Houston, Texas
From KTRK of April 5, 2009
Pawn shop manager shoots would-be robber
A robbery attempt in southwest Houston ended with gunshots and a suspect being taken to the hospital.
Saturday evening, investigators say that two men walked into the Bayou pawn shop off Fondren near Clarewood with guns drawn. The manager reportedly grabbed a gun and fired at the men. One of the suspects was hit and the other surrendered.
The condition of the suspect, who was hit by a bullet, hasn't been released. Police took three people in for questioning.
Labels: business robbery, TX
4/4/09
Atascosa County, Texas
From WOAI of April 2, 2009
Shotgun-toting robbery suspect shot and killed by business owner
A business owner shot and killed a suspected robber near Poteet according to deputies.
The Atascosa Co. Sheriff’s investigators say around midnight two robbers burst into Larry's Game Room on Hwy 16. That’s about seven miles north of Poteet.
The robbers, who had a shotgun and pistol, fired one shot in the ceiling and began demanding money. They forced a female worker to ground and pointed shotgun at her. The business owner came out of the backroom with a 40-caliber handgun and shot one of the robbers in the head.
Carlos Valero, 25, died at the scene. The other would-be robber ran off. Both are believed to be from the Atascosa area.
Right now, investigators are working on an arrest warrant for the other alleged hijacker. Both the Atascosa Sheriff’s Office and Texas Rangers are handling the investigation.
Deputies say the shooting happened at a place that had eight-liner machines. These machines can sometimes be used for gambling and investigators are looking to see if these were legit.
Labels: business robbery, TX
4/3/09
Columbus, Ohio
From 10TV of April 2, 2009
Suspect Shot During Gas Station Robbery
Police said a man was shot during a robbery at a northeast side gas station early Thursday.
Two men went into Sam's Gas and Food, located at 1773 Fifth Ave., shortly after midnight as it was closing, 10TV's Tino Ramos reported.
Police said the men had guns and attempted to rob the store. One of the clerks grabbed a gun and shots were exchanged between the worker and the robbers. One of the suspects was shot in the back.
The victim was dropped off at The Ohio State University Medical Center East. He was transported to OSU Medical Center where he was treated and arrested in connection with the robbery, Ramos reported.
Police continued to search for the second suspect.
The employees at the gas station were not injured.
Labels: business robbery, OH
4/1/09
Akron, Ohio
From the Akron Beacon Journal of April 1, 2009
Pizza shop owner describes robbery, shooting
John Hayes wants only to sell pizzas, not shoot robbers.
But the day after his West Akron pizza parlor was held up and he shot and killed the shotgun-armed robber, Hayes remains concerned about his business, his life and the health of his six workers.
He wants the public to know why he opened fire: He didn't want to be killed, like other robbery victims around the city. He wants only to sell pizzas.
''I'm devastated,'' he said inside Your Pizza Shop, the West Exchange Street parlor he purchased two months ago. ''It's an unbelievable situation I've been put into because of some person's carelessness and thoughtlessness.
''I'm in fear of my life, my employees' lives and the lives of everybody I know.''
Hayes, 37, was behind the counter Tuesday night when 20-year-old Patrick Finney, wearing an orange ski mask, walked in and pointed a sawed-off shotgun at his head just before 8 p.m.
A customer, an older woman from the neighborhood, was seated at the counter watching the Cavaliers game while waiting for a stromboli.
''He said, 'Give me the [expletive] money. This is an [expletive] robbery,'' Hayes said.
Hayes cooperated, giving the robber a stack of $10 bills. The robber wanted more and pointed the shotgun within inches of Hayes' head, he said.
''As soon as I gave him the money, I pulled my gun out from my hip, pointed it and fired four shots,'' Hayes said.
Finney fell to the floor, then stood back up. Hayes fired three more shots from his Smith & Wesson 9 mm pistol. Finney staggered outside and collapsed across the street. The cash he sought was dropped outside.
Hayes then called 911.
''I just got robbed at my pizza shop, 1077 West Exchange Street,'' Hayes says on the recording released by Akron police.
''OK, what kind. . . .does he have a weapon?'' a dispatcher asks.
''He had a weapon, a gun. I shot him. He's across the street laying down right now,'' Hayes says.
''You shot him?'' the dispatcher replies in a startled voice.
''I shot him right in front of me while he was holding a gun on me,'' Hayes replies.
Finney was taken to Akron General Medical Center. He died within the hour. An autopsy on Wednesday showed he was shot multiple times in the torso. The death has been ruled a homicide.
Akron police are investigating the shooting, but there is no indication that Hayes, who has been questioned by investigators, acted unlawfully. It was the fourth robbery at the shop since 2007.
Police Lt. Rick Edwards said Finney had no felony convictions, but he had been arrested in 2008 and charged with marijuana drug abuse. Finney failed to appear in court and a warrant was issued for his arrest.
Finney's mother, Patricia, lives six blocks south of Buchtel High School on Winton Avenue, but a neighbor said that Patrick Finney had lived with his grandmother until she died a few years ago. Efforts to reach other family members for comment were unsuccessful.
An acquaintance of Finney, Kenneth Amos, 20, of Akron, was arrested after the shooting and charged with tampering with evidence. He had items that belonged to Finney, Edwards said. Police would not say whether the items were connected to the robbery.
Hayes said the neighborhood reaction to the shooting has been troubling. A woman stood outside his shop taking pictures, for no apparent reason. Others have called and hung up. Business was slow Wednesday afternoon.
His delivery drivers are concerned about retaliation. He said he carries a weapon, with a concealed carry permit and regular shooting practice, to avoid being a victim. He cited the recent case of the North Hill man shot in a carjacking as reason for his fear of being shot during a robbery.
(More)
Labels: business robbery, concealed carry permit, OH
Orlando, Florida
From the Orlando Sentinel of April 1, 2009
Orange Blossom Trail pharmacist kills armed robber
A pharmacist shot an armed robber dead Tuesday at a drugstore off South Orange Blossom Trail, the Orange County Sheriff's Office said.
It was at least the fourth time this year that a robber was killed at a Central Florida business and was the second drugstore holdup that ended in death.
The shooting happened about 5:15 p.m. at JR Pharmacy, 2160 Whispering Lakes Blvd.
The man came into the shop with a handgun and, after a brief confrontation, was shot to death, sheriff's spokesman Jim Solomons said. Investigators would not release names, where the body was found or what the man tried to steal.
The drugstore caters to the heavily Hispanic clientele in the neighborhood, customer Evette Luciano said.
"They're very honest people," she said of the owners.
"They go out of their way to help the customers," said her twin sister, Jeanette Luciano, who also lives nearby.
Evette Luciano said she spoke to one of the partner's wives and was told that the shooting happened in the front of the store while two owners were in the back. The worker who did the shooting formerly worked across the street at Walgreens, customers said.
Several customers said they thought three partners owned the store, including the man who shot the robber.
But corporate documents show only two names. Neither man was the shooter, Evette Luciano said. Reached at home, Joshua Adedoyin and Rojer Tewari would not comment. They are listed on documents as "managing members" of the business.
There was another armed robbery at JR Pharmacy in April 2007, Solomons said. There are no laws preventing people from defending themselves with guns at home or at work.
"The Legislature has empowered people to protect themselves," said sheriff's Cmdr. Paul "Spike" Hopkins. "People are tired of being victims."
There have been 25 calls to law enforcement from JR Pharmacy since 2003, but most were routine, Solomons said. Details were not immediately available, and it's not clear when the shop opened.
On Feb. 7, a security guard shot and killed an armed robber at The Medicine Shoppe in New Smyrna Beach. Investigators said the guard, a retired law-enforcement officer, was justified. The robber had pointed a gun at a pharmacist and demanded oxycodone pills.
In January, a customer at a carwash on South Orange Blossom Trail shot a suspected robber dead. The same week, a customer shot to death a man who police said was trying to rob a Kangaroo Express in Ocoee.
Labels: business robbery, FL
Grand Rapids, Michigan
From Grand Rapids News of March 31, 2009
Man who assisted wounded store owner says he knows the suspect in Leonard Short Stop robbery
When Amos Bell spotted the owner of the Leonard Short Stop chasing a masked gunman Tuesday morning, he didn't hesitate to help.
He got out of the car he was riding in, and gave chase.
"(The owner) was running up the street with a gun," said Bell, 18. "I knew it wasn't going to be nothing good."
Bell and the owner, who had been shot in the leg in the 10:40 a.m. holdup, lost sight of the robber, but police caught the suspect a half-hour later hiding in some bushes. Police brought Bell and the hobbled owner, whose name wasn't released, to the scene of the capture to identify the robber.
Once there, it got a little more complicated for Bell: Not only was he a friend to the store owner, stopping to chat every day, but he knew the alleged robber, too.
"It was one of my buddies, that's the bad thing about it," Bell said. "A guy I'm cool with."
Still, he said, he could not defend the robbery, particularly hitting the store, at 1038 Leonard St. NW, that serves the neighborhood and seems to sell virtually everything.
"He's a nice guy," Bell said of the store's owner. "This is the corner store. He's just trying to help us out."
Police caught up to the suspect just after 11 a.m., and found a handgun, too. Officers were responding to a call that a store owner, armed with a long gun, was chasing a man who had just shot him.
The owner told Bell that he was shot in the leg when he refused the robber's demand for cash. Police recovered the $800 reported stolen.
The owner returned to his store after Tuesday's shooting, walking with a limp and the sides of his denims slit for examination by paramedics. Awaiting ambulances soon left after the man said he didn't need to go to the hospital, Bell said.
The store remained closed after Tuesday's shooting.
Labels: assault, business robbery, defender shot, MI
3/30/09
Harris County, Texas
From the Houston Chronicle of March 29, 2009
Robbery suspect dies after getting shot, run over
A man allegedly attempting to rob a northwest Harris County cell phone store died after he was shot by the business owner and then hit by a car as he attempted to flee, authorities said.
Deputies answered a call around 6:15 p.m. Saturday at a cell phone store in the 5200 block of Barker Cypress, where they learned that two armed men dressed in black allegedly attempted to rob it, said Sheriff’s Office spokesman Lt. John Legg.
The store owner produced his own handgun and the alleged robbers fled the business, Legg said.
As the men ran into the parking lot, the store owner chased them. One of the men fled the scene in a 90s model red Ford Taurus, while the other man stopped and turned toward the store owner, Legg said. “At that time, the owner of the store fired several shots towards the suspect, hitting him once,” Legg said.
However, the alleged robber continued to run through the parking lot and attempted to run across Barker Cypress, where he was hit by a car. The man, whose identity has not been released, collapsed and died, Legg said.
No charges have been filed against the store owner and Legg said the case will likely be referred to a grand jury.
Deputies are searching for the second suspect who fled. Anyone with information is urged to call the Sheriff’s Office at 713-221-6000 or Crime Stoppers at 713-222-TIPS.
Labels: business robbery, TX
3/24/09
Miami, Florida
From the Miami Herald of March 24, 2009
1 dead, one injured in Miami Burger King shooting
One man was killed and another seriously wounded in a shootout inside a Miami Burger King on Tuesday, officials said.
Police said a man wearing a ski mask walked into the store at Biscayne Boulevard and 54th Street and demanded money from a clerk.
A customer, who has a concealed weapons permit, pulled a gun, said Officer Jeff Giordano, a Miami police spokesman.
The customer and robber exchanged fire.
The robber was shot dead at the scene.
The customer, who had several gunshot wounds, was taken to Ryder Trauma Center in serious but stable condition, said Lt. Ignatius Carroll, a Miami Fire Rescue spokesman.
At about 4 p.m., officials got several 911 calls reporting people shot inside the Burger King.
Labels: business robbery, concealed carry permit, defender shot, FL
3/20/09
Fort Worth, Texas
From the Fort Worth Star-Telegram of March 20, 2009
Clerk trades gunfire with robbers in west Fort Worth
Robbers used a shotgun Thursday evening to blast open the glass door of a west-side retail store in west Fort Worth, but a clerk shot back, police said.
The two robbers fled the CC 99 Cent Plus Store in the 5700 block of Lovell Avenue, and the clerk was not hurt, said Lt. Paul Henderson, police spokesman.
"It's unknown," he added, "if either suspect was hit."
The incident happened around 8:35 p.m. at the store, which is near Lovell Avenue's intersection with Camp Bowie Boulevard.
The two men wearing hooded sweatshirts breached to glass door and entered the store. They pointed the shotgun and a handgun at the clerk and demanded "all the money," Henderson said.
But the 38-year-old clerk, crouching behind a counter, grabbed his own gun and fired several shots at the robbers, Henderson said.
"The two would-be robbers fled the store as bullets flew past them," Henderson said.
A witness later told police that two men matching the descriptions of the robbers were spotted running in the 5800 block of Curzon Avenue, one block south of the store's location.
Anyone with information can call robbery detectives at 817-392-4370 or Crime Stoppers at 817-469-TIPS, Henderson said. The information is considered confidential and callers may be eligible for a $1,000 reward.
Labels: business robbery, TX
3/16/09
Bristol Township, Pennsylvania
From the Times of Trenton of March 13, 2009
Clerk shoots robbery suspect
A knife-wielding robber who entered the Windsor Pharmacy on Wednesday night was taken down by a store clerk using a handgun, police said.
Matthew Perry, a 21-year-old Middletown Township resident, allegedly went into the pharmacy just after 8:30 p.m., displayed a knife, and demanded the pill oxycontin. Police said he began to struggle with a store clerk who resisted him.
A second store clerk, who had a valid permit to carry a weapon, pulled out a handgun and fired one shot at Perry, hitting him in the arm and chest, according to police. Police said Perry fell to the floor, and was taken to a local hospital by the Levittown-Fairless Hills Rescue Squad.
Perry is being guarded by Bristol Township Police, and will be charged pending a review by the Bucks County District Attorney's Office after his release.
**Account originally posted under "New Jersey" due to the source, but it has since been pointed out that Bristol Township is in Pennsylvania.**
Labels: business robbery, concealed carry permit, PA
3/14/09
Lake Charles, Louisiana
From KPLC of March 13, 2009
Gunfire exchanged at car dealership in Sulphur
It's a miracle no one was killed or injured last night at Billy Navarre Chevrolet in Sulphur. That's where shots were exchanged between a police officer and an employee.. It was a miscommunication that could have been deadly.
It all started after a burglar alarm at the car dealership on East Napoleon. An employee arrived ahead of police and went inside to check the business. He had a flashlight and a gun. When police saw the employee inside they thought he was an armed burglar and fired shots, while the employee thought he was being fired at by a burglar. General Manager Ryan Navarre says the employee was crouched behind a desk. "I get the most horrific phone call I have ever gotten in my life. An employee is telling me that he's being shot at and he had already called 911 and he still was trying to get help. He was hunkered down in the service department telling me somebody was shooting at him and he returned fire. It was just a horrible situation.
Windows on the northeast corner of the building were shot out. And there are bullet holes on various objects inside and out. Navarre says they were trying to call off police when the shots were exchanged."Thank God that he didn't get killed or that they didn't get killed. And it looks like somewhere in the neighborhood of twenty rounds were shot outside and six from the inside. And it was just a failure of communication because I was on the phone with 911 telling them that my employee's in the building."
While a Sulphur police officer fired first Assistant Chief Glenn Berry says he had good reason to do what he did. "There's no doubt in my mind the officer was justified. He felt that this man was about to shoot his partner in the back. He felt that with every fiber of his being. And he fired in defense of his fellow officer."
Police say once officers have been summoned to a building an employee should never go inside-- but should always wait outside with a key. Berry emphasizes, "Do not go into the business. Do not arm yourself when you go there. Wait in your vehicle until police arrive. Then open the door for them. Speak with the police. Don't go into the business. In this case this could have been just a terrible tragedy."
The employee was arrested and booked for unlawful use of a weapon, but it's not certain whether formal charges will be pursued. An internal investigation is still underway by Sulphur police.
Labels: business robbery, LA, mistaken identity
3/12/09
Centerfield, Utah
From March 9, 2009 KSL channel 5:
There's surveillance video of the event.Centerfield resident Antonio Ramos, 42, was killed when one of the women he was robbing grabbed his gun and shot him in the head. Surveillance video from the store captured the robbery and Ramos' final moments on tape.
"[There's] a lot of talk about, wondering what went wrong and what happened for sure. Until we are done, fully, with our investigation, there will those questions like there would be in any small town," said Centerfield Police Chief Stewart Jensen.
This is the first robbery Jensen has ever dealt with in his 10 years on the force in Centerfield, which is located south of Gunnison.
Just after midnight, police say Ramos approached an employee as she was taking out the garbage, pointed a gun at her and forced her inside.
Ramos told one employee to tie up the other, and then tried to tie up the second worker himself. A few moments later, video shows the gunman put down his .22-caliber rifle and slip it onto the counter.
The clerk who was already tied up appears to remain calm and, in a brief moment, goes for the gun.
She grabbed the rifle and fired, striking the robber once in the head. When police arrived, Ramos was dead.
"They did a good job defending themselves, under the circumstances. They had no idea what was going to happen to them after they were tied up, so I think they did what they felt they needed to do," said Sanpete County sheriff's Sgt. Greg Peterson.
Labels: business robbery, criminal's gun taken away and used against him, UT
3/6/09
Waukegan, Illinois
From the Lake County News-Sun of March 5, 2009
Gun shop employee shoots robbery suspect
Five suspects were in custody after a shooting incident Wednesday afternoon at Schrank's Smoke 'N Gun where police said robbery was the apparent motive.
One male suspect was flown to a hospital after suffering three gunshot wounds. An employee of the gun shop was treated at an area hospital.
According to witness accounts, a subject went behind the counter at the store at 2010 Washington St., and was engaged with a store clerk in a verbal altercation that turned physical, Waukegan Police Cmdr. Wayne Walles said.
At one point, the store clerk produced a pistol and fired at the subject, striking him in the chest twice and once in the leg.
The injured male suspect was flown by Flight For Life to Advocate Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge where he was in surgery late Wednesday.
The store clerk inadvertently shot himself in the hand during the struggle, police said.
Two men outside the store were taken into custody immediately after the shooting. Police Chief William Biang said they were detained because they had been inside the store with the other suspect at some point.
Police later said a total of four people, besides the male who was shot, were taken into custody in connection with the incident.
"Four other subjects who were at the scene at the time of this incident have been located and are being interviewed by police," said Walles. No identities in the case were released.
Two men who didn't want to be identified at the scene at 1:45 p.m. said they had an appointment to sell or trade some guns, but couldn't because of the police and emergency vehicle at the store.
"If we had come 15 minutes earlier, we would have been in there," one said. They were both amazed anyone would try anything in the store because employees openly carry weapons, and the manager of the store is a marksman who teaches shooting classes.
Washington Street was shut down for about an hour and nearby Waukegan High School was put on lock down.
Police told the school to put "Code White" into effect, which means everyone must stay put, said Biang, but the school issued a "Code Red" instead, used when a gunman is inside the school.
The shooting is the second by a store employee in Waukegan in less than six months. A store clerk fatally shot a 20-year-old robber who tried to flee the scene of a grocery store on Lincoln Avenue in October after the North Chicago man entered the store carrying a gun and demanding money.
In January, the clerk was cleared of any wrongdoing by a Lake County grand jury which ruled the shooting was in self defense.
Labels: business robbery, defender shot, IL
2/27/09
Woodland Park, Colorado
From KRDO of February 26, 2009
Pellet Gun Scares Would-Be Robber, Suspect at Large
A suspect armed with a revolver ran away after a Woodland Park store clerk pulled out a pellet gun and told him to leave Thursday. He is considered armed and dangerous by police.
The robbery happened at the 99 Auto Detail on 219 South West Street in Woodland Park just before noon. Police say the suspect walked into the business showed a small revolver and demanded all the money. The owner Glenn Kothe went to the area where the money is kept and picked up a pellet gun pointed it at the suspect and told him to leave. The suspect ran from the business. Nothing was taken, no one was hurt.
The suspect is described by police as a white male, early 20's, approximately 6 foot, 175 pounds, short brown hair, GI haircut. The suspect was last seen wearing blue jeans and a long sleeve crew neck shirt which was darker than the jeans.
The students in Woodland Park Schools were not released for lunch off campus due to the active search for the suspect. The Woodland Park Police Department and the Teller County Sheriffs conducted systematic patrols of all of Woodland Park and the surrounding area but were unable to locate the suspect.
Point of contact is Detective Sergeant Tom Kinney at the Woodland Park Police Department, 719 687-9262.
Labels: business robbery, CO
2/25/09
Tampa Bay, Florida
From Tampa Tribune of February 25, 2009
Armed Clerk Foils Robbery Attempt
Two men wearing ski masks and gloves walked into the Friendly Meat 'N Grocery store Monday evening planning to rob the business, according to Tampa police.
But when one of the men pointed a pistol at Mohammed Abu Sayed, the clerk grabbed a pistol of his own, police say.
The would-be robbers ran out but fired a shot back toward the store, shattering a window. The men drove from the scene in a dark-colored sport utility vehicle, police say.
Police did not have additional descriptions of the suspects.
Sayed, 49, was not hurt during the attempted robbery, which happened about 9 p.m. at 1910 N. 34th St.
Labels: business robbery, FL
2/23/09
Kansas City, Missouri
From the Kansas City Star of February 16, 2009
KC police identify robber shot by store owner
Kansas City police today identified a robbery suspect who died after being shot by a store owner and involved in a car wreck Sunday afternoon.
Christopher L. Kublic, 28, moved to Kansas City from the state of Washington within the past month, police said.
Along with another man, Kublic allegedly tried to hold up a hydroponics store using a stun gun about 5:15 p.m. Sunday in the 3600 block of St. John Avenue, in the city’s Northeast neighborhood. The store owner told police he pulled his own gun and shot the robber.
Shortly after the holdup, a vehicle matching the suspects’ was found overturned about three blocks away.
Kublic was lying next to the wrecked vehicle. He was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
The second suspect remained at-large this afternoon, police said.
Labels: business robbery, KS
Oakley, Ohio
From WCPO of February 22, 2009
Armed Robber Gets Shot At
Daniel Lee and Erin Beckwith were eating dinner at the Green Papaya restaurant in Oakley around 6 p.m. Saturday when suddenly police swarmed the parking lot.
"We were out celebrating a friends birthday. And didn't hear anything. Next thing we know we saw a number of cop cars and we saw the lights outside and had no idea what was going on," said Beckwith.
Little did Lee and Beckwith know, just feet away the family-owned Natural Life Nutrition Center had just been robbed.
The clerk face to face with the armed robber was the owner's son.
"He complied with the demands that were made by the gunman. He turned over the cash that belonged to the store. As the gunman turned to leave, he felt threatened once again. The gunman raised his firearm towards the employee of the store. At that point, the employee then returned fire," said Sgt. Darryl Morton with the Cincinnati Police Department.
Police say the store was robbed last year. Since then, the owner's son has been armed with a small caliber handgun. After shooting at the robber several times, the man ran out of the store.
Police arrested a suspect less than a mile away in the Rookwood Pavilion parking lot just minutes later.
Labels: business robbery, OH
2/14/09
San Diego, California
From the San Diego Union-Tribune of February 13, 2009
Robber shot during coin shop heist dies
An armed man attempting to rob a North Park coin shop Friday morning was killed after he and at least one of the store's employees exchanged gunfire, police said.
The man and an accomplice went into the Old Coin Shop on El Cajon Boulevard, just east of Texas Street, at 9:16 a.m. and confronted two employees who were both armed with handguns, said San Diego police homicide Lt. Terry McManus.
About the same time police received a 911 call about the robbery and while en route, shots were fired inside the business, McManus said.
Officers found the would-be robber lying on the ground just east of the front door of the shop. McManus said his accomplice had picked him up from inside the store and brought him outside to a nearby parking lot before fleeing with the handgun.
The man had been shot in the left leg and in the lower back, and he died at Mercy Hospital at 9:54 a.m., the lieutenant said. He has been identified as Michael Anthony Watkins Jr., 26, of San Diego.
Witnesses said they saw the second man running from the store. He was described only as a young black man, about 5 feet 10 inches tall, with a thin build and was last seen wearing a gray sweater and dark pants, McManus said.
Officer searching the area found clothing and a handgun in an alley behind a building on Hamilton Street near Howard Avenue, McManus said.
Police are also looking at an older-model car in the Denny's parking lot, which may have been driven by the pair, and are checking it for evidence.
McManus said it has not yet been determined how many shots were fired inside the store or if both employees fired or just one.
The store is equipped with a security system that allows employees to keep the front door locked and buzz customers in, but it was unclear whether that system was in use.
Investigators are also checking for any surveillance video from the store or nearby businesses.
Eric Diaz, 37, said he was in the Denny's restaurant next door washing his hands in the bathroom when he heard two pops and a big crash, which sounded like glass breaking.
Seconds later, police officers rushed into the restaurant's bathroom looking for the shooter. Outside, he saw one of the robbers lying motionless on the sidewalk.
The front glass door of the business, which has bars on the windows, was shattered.
Officers are still searching for the man's accomplice. El Cajon Boulevard, between Texas Street and Hamilton Street, is expected to remain closed for several hours as homicide detectives investigate. McManus said they hope to have the westbound lanes opened soon.
The Old Coin Shop was founded in 1960 by Harlan White, according to the business's Web site. Over the years it has handled many rare and expensive coins, it said.
This isn't the first time the business has been targeted by robbers.
In 1994, a thief ran inside, wedged a newspaper under the doorjamb to keep the security door from locking behind him and ran out with about $500 in silver dollars, according to a news report. He was caught down the block by a good Samaritan who was driving by.
Labels: business robbery, CA
2/8/09
New Symrna Beach, Florida
From MSNBC of February 8, 2009
Would-Be Robber Shot, Killed In New Smyrna Beach
A would-be robber was shot and killed Saturday morning in New Smyrna Beach as a store owner was opening up his shop.
The robber was shot twice in the chest by a security guard at the Medicine Shoppe pharmacy Saturday at 10:15 a.m.
Police said the masked robber entered the store at 653 N. Dixie Freeway, put a gun to the head of the pharmacist and demanded drugs.
That's when the man with the gun was shot and killed by the security guard.
Neighboring store owners said the Medicine Shoppe had heard rumors lately that they were going to be held up, and as a result had hired the security guard.
"It was kind of chaotic," said neighboring store owner Julie Mokas. "Everyone was peeking out their doors. No one knew what was going on."
According to neighboring shop owners, the security guard is a retired sheriff's deputy who is related to an employee of the Medicine Shoppe. However, police would not confirm that.
"They were tipped off that somebody was gonna rob them, and they had an undercover cop sitting in there," Mokas said.
The shooting is being investigated by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and the state attorney's office but police appear to support the guard's actions.
"The security guard did what he had to do, and he protected the pharmacist," said New Smyrna Beach police Sgt. Michael Brouillette.
The pharmacist and one clerk, who were in the store at the time of the hold-up, were not harmed.
The store had been held up twice before. It was robbed in May 2006 and April 2007. Both were armed hold-ups with suspects looking for drugs. Police have not yet released the name of the victim or of the security guard involved in the shooting.
Labels: business robbery, FL, private security
1/29/09
Auburn, Michigan
From WJRT of January 21, 2009
Business owner shoots would-be robber
A Bay County man went to great lengths to protect himself and his business Wednesday night after two people tried to rob him.
It happened just after 7 p.m. in the village of Auburn at Evergreen Insurance on Midland Road.
Police say the suspects wore masks when they tried to make their way inside. The business owner shot one suspect, and the other is still on the loose.
The suspects were believed to be armed. A suspect vehicle was located. Police say they believe the suspect that left the vehicle is on foot.
Labels: business robbery, MI
1/28/09
Tuscon, Arizona
From the Arizona Star of January 27, 2009
Apparent robber shot dead at store
An employee at a South Side convenience store shot and killed one of two men trying to rob the store Monday and was himself wounded in the brief shootout, police said.
Two men walked into the Grand Market, in the 6200 block of South Sixth Avenue, sometime before 5:30 p.m., said Sgt. Mark Robinson, a Tucson Police Department spokesman.
They shot at an employee, a man in his early 50s, who fired back, Robinson said.
The employee shot one of the would-be-robbers, an 18-year-old, who ran outside into the parking lot where he collapsed and died. The other robber ran away, and police are still looking for him, Robinson said.
The employee was also shot. He was taken to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, Robinson said.
Witnesses described the missing suspect as in his mid-20s to early 30s. He was wearing a black-and-white football jersey and a red bandanna, Robinson said.
Margarita Grajeda lives in the area and drops into the Grand Market from time to time.
Grajeda wasn't surprised that someone could get shot trying to rob the market. She said the store had been robbed before, and it was only a matter of time before someone at the store was forced to shoot.
"I knew somebody was going to get shot someday," she said.
As for the store owners, she said she hoped they were all right.
"They're such nice people. So nice," she said.
Labels: AZ, business robbery, defender shot
Hillview, Kentucky
From the Louisville Courier-Journal of January 22, 2009
Hillview man charged in break-in at bait shop
A Hillview man been charged with burglary after allegedly breaking into a Louisville bait-and-tackle business and being shot at by the owner Saturday.
Eric Lee Wade, 24, is accused of breaking a window and entering Pepper Tackle Shop on Dixie Highway in Valley Station about 11:30 p.m., said Lt. Jim Mueller with the Louisville Metro Police robbery unit.
A 16-year-old Jefferson County juvenile was involved, according to Mueller, but it was uncertain last night if he has been charged in the Pepper break-in.
Norman Pepper, the owner of the store and an unsuccessful candidate for the Metro Council District 14 seat, said in an interview yesterday that when two people entered his business after hours, he fired a shot at one of the men and a second shot to scare them off.
The two crawled back out the window and got into a car, said Pepper, who is 67. He managed to fire three shots into the car before the occupants fled.
The vehicle was later found abandoned on the Gene Snyder Freeway near Dixie Highway.
"They didn't have time to do anything. I was on them," Pepper said. "There was no time to be scared."
He then called the police. While his shop has been burglarized before, this is the first time he has shot at an intruder, he said.
Both Wade and the juvenile have been charged with robbery in three other cases -- hold-ups earlier Saturday at Circle K, 9111 Blue Lick Road; on Jan. 13 at First America Cash Advance, 6661 Dixie Highway; and on Jan. 10 at Cash Tyme, 11340 Preston Highway, Mueller said.
Two people would enter the businesses wearing masks, brandish a sawed-off shotgun or a pistol and demand money, Mueller said. No one was injured in any of the robberies.
Wade was arrested Monday, and the juvenile was arrested Tuesday, he said.
The juvenile has been charged with three counts of first-degree robbery, Mueller said.
Wade has been charged with three counts of first-degree robbery, one count of second-degree burglary and one count of having a vehicle that is a nuisance, according to Metro Corrections. He is being held on a $500,000 bond.
Labels: business robbery, KY, minor offender
1/18/09
Omaha, Nebraska
From MSNBC of January 16, 2009
County Attorney: Shop Owner Fired In Self-Defense
No charges will be filed against the Omaha shop owner who shot and killed two people in his business Tuesday night because he fired in self-defense, said Douglas County Attorney Don Kleine.
Kleine said Andre McKesson, the owner of Midwest Grillz and Jewelry at 62nd Street and Ames Avenue, fired after 14 or 15 shots.
Kleine said police told him McKesson got into an argument with Willie Wakefield, 29, and Marcel Davis, 16. At one point, Wakefield allegedly fired two shots in the direction of McKennon.
Kleine said McKesson returned fire, killing Davis and Wakefield and wounding Brandon Boyce, 22, who was outside waiting for Davis and Wakefield.
The investigation into the case is continuing.
Labels: business robbery, NE
1/17/09
Dalzell, South Carolina
From the Sumpter Item of January 17, 2009
Armed robbery goes awry
A masked bandit tried to rob the wrong store Thursday night.
A police report said about 11:19 p.m. a black man in his mid to late 20s brandished a shotgun at a 73-year-old store owner, demanded money and fired once, hitting the wall behind the owner. The store owner pulled out his own gun and returned fire and called 911 as the man fled the store on foot.
Smoking a cigarette not long after lunch time Friday, Milton McCarty leaned on the counter behind the cashier’s area, a half cup of coffee in a styrofoam cup resting near his elbow. He said he’s owned McCarty’s Super Convenience Store at 3909 Camden Highway for 40 years and when he works at night, he always carries his weapon, declining to say exactly what kind.
“He fired at me and I fired back at him and it was over with,” he said matter of factly, “and he took to running.”
He quickly dialed 911, he said, and officers were on the scene in minutes.
“I think I got him in the face a little bit, and that was it,” he said.
The robber — having robbed nothing actually — ran out the door heading east on Camden Highway, McCarty said, hooking his thumb in the air, pointing behind him. McCarty simply shook his head and let out a laugh when asked what he was thinking when the gunman opened fire.
“I carry mine (his weapon) all the time,” he said. “Everything’s fine.”
McCarty said this wasn’t the first time he’s had to use his gun while working, either.
“I shot one other fellow,” a while back, he said, but declined to get into details.
The suspect is described as 5 feet 9 inches tall and 165 pounds. He was wearing a black jacket, black shoes, blue jeans and a mask McCarty said was navy blue.
Sumter County Sheriff Anthony Dennis said investigators were working to enhance the video images of the man and said they were unsure if the man left in a car after running out of the store.
“We’re not sure if there was a vehicle,” he said.
Anyone with information is urged to contact the Sumter County Sheriff’s Office at (803) 436-2700 or Crime Stoppers at (803) 436-2718. Callers can remain anonymous and may be eligible for a cash reward.
Labels: business robbery, SC, senior
1/15/09
Hallifax County, Virginia
From the WDBJ of January 13, 2009
Clerk shoots would-be robber in Halifax County
A store clerk shoots a would-be robber.
According to the Halifax County Sheriff's Office, the clerk called 911 to report an armed robbery at Max's Grocery in Scottsburg.
The clerk told the sheriff's office a man entered the store around 6:30 p.m. armed with a handgun and demanded money. The sheriff's office said the clerk shot the suspect who then left on foot.
Deputies found the suspect around 8:20 p.m. in some woods near the store. He was taken to Halifax Regional Hospital with an apparent gun shot wound to the chest.
The suspect, Richard Anthony Snead, has been charged with attempted armed robbery and use of a firearm in commission of a felony.
Anyone with further information on this attempted robbery is asked to call the Halifax County Sheriff's Office at 434-476-3334.
Labels: business robbery, VA
1/7/09
Phoenix, Arizona
From the Arizona Republic of January 6, 2009
Jewelry store owner shoots would-be thieves
The owner of a Phoenix jewelry store shot two men who had used pepper spray on him during an attempted robbery.
The suspects, identified as 24-year-old Gregory Mills and 27-year-old Jason Buckingham, were taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries and are expected to be charged Tuesday.
Phoenix police say Mills and Buckingham went to the jewelry store of a 61-year-old man around 2 p.m. Monday and tried to sell a watch, but were denied because it was missing parts.
About 10 minutes later, they returned, pepper sprayed the store owner in the face and smashed the glass of a display cabinet.
That's when the owner pulled a gun from his pocket, shot each suspect and held them at gunpoint until officers arrived.
Investigators say the owner acted in self defense and won't be charged.
Labels: AZ, business robbery
1/6/09
Ocoee, Florida
From WFTV of January 6, 2009
Customer Describes Fatal Shooting Of Robbery Suspect
An eyewitness saw a robber brutally beating a store clerk in Ocoee, so he pulled a gun out of his car at the Kangaroo gas station on Franklin Street and fatally shot the robber.
That witness talked to Eyewitness News about his decision to pull the trigger and said he'd shoot that robber again if he had to.
He's a regular at the store and said he was coming to buy some cigarettes when he heard the clerk screaming. He told Eyewitness News he not only grabbed his cell phone to call 911, but also pulled a loaded handgun out of his car.
"I opened up, popped that out," Chris told Eyewitness News on Tuesday, about 12 hours after the incident.
Eyewitness News agreed to only use his first name, because he's afraid of retaliation, but he showed exactly what he did when he heard the clerk at the Ocoee store being attacked Monday around 11:00pm.
"I pull up like this and said, 'Stop,' and, as he came up, I came straight up, fired, 'Pop, pop,' two shots," Chris said.
Those shots hit and killed 40-year-old Freddie Carson. Public records show he has a rap sheet going back to 1987, including charges like battery and burglary.
"I'm upset. I mean, trust me. I'm not happy about taking a man's life," Chris said.
Police said they're still investigating whether Chris will face any charges by coming to the rescue with a gun. Eyewitness News learned he was been convicted of misdemeanor marijuana possession in 2005 and was re-arrested in 2007 for a probation violation.
"I don't do that no more," Chris told Eyewitness News. "You learn your lesson."
This time, the 26-year-old says he was within his rights when he took his gun out of his car to stop a robbery in progress.
"I was not going to sit there and watch a friend get beat to death. Would I do it again? I'm upset, but, yes, I would do it again," he said.
The store clerk was transported to Health Central Hospital with head injuries, but details on her condition were not released.
Investigators are also looking into whether or not there may have been a second robbery suspect who fled the scene.
**Addendum**
Chris did not have a concealed weapons permit, but he was protected by two other laws that allow drivers to carry guns in their cars and allow gun owners to start shooting if they witness a violent felony.
(More)
Labels: assault, business robbery, FL
Pembroke Pines, Florida
From MSNBC of December 30, 2008
Police: Convenience Store Clerk Shoots Would-Be Robber
A convenience store clerk in Pembroke Pines gunned down a pair of would-be robbers inside his own store.
According to detectives, four men rushed into the store on the 7700 block of Johnson Street Monday night and one of the men pointed a gun at the clerk demanding cash.
That's when authorities said the clerk ducked for cover under the counter, and unleashed a hail of bullets.
Officers were able to arrest one of the men who was struck in the leg by the clerk's bullet. He is expected to make a full recovery.
Witnesses said the other men were able to get away in what appeared to be a black 2002 Pontiac Grand Prix.
Anyone with information is asked to call Broward Crime Stoppers at 954-493-TIPS.
Labels: business robbery, FL
12/27/08
Columbia, South Carolina
From December 15, 2008 WIS channel 10:
COLUMBIA, SC (WIS) - The Richland County Sheriff's Department is investigating a shooting on Shakespeare Road Wednesday in Columbia.
"I hope he don't die and if he comes back and look around, don't touch nothing else," says Sam Banks, talking candidly about the man he says tried to steal from his store. "I didn't go into business to lose money. We aren't making that much now, but I'm not about that losing."
The retired veteran wasn't at the store he co-owns with his wife Wednesday afternoon.
Deputies says around 3:00pm a man came in, tried to walk out with some liquor and got shot."I think they should respect the store owners property and their rights," says Banks.
Banks' wife, too shaken to talk on camera, said she was knitting a blanket when a young man walked into the S&H ABC Package Store on Shakespeare Road.
She says the man asked the price of a bottle of liquor. When she told him, he backed away from the counter and started to look around.
She says the man then crossed the employees-only chain, grabbed two bottles and headed toward her.
That's when she grabbed her .38 and fired two shots.
At least one person agrees with how she handled it.
"We have too many robbers in this neighborhood, all over the place. They're robbing for money, so the lady protected herself. She did the right thing," says Barbra Simmons.
The store has been around 10 years, and Banks says this is not the first time someone has tried to steal from him.
He has some advice for other would-be robbers: "The good book says thou shall not steal. Don't do that," he says.
Deputies say 28-year-old Oxvaria Ingram will be charged with strong-arm robbery.
As for the store owner, investigators haven't determined if she will face any charges.
Labels: business robbery, female, SC
Nashville, Tennessee
From the December 1, 2008 Nashville Tennessean:
A 22-year-old uniformed security guard who was buying gasoline at a Murfreesboro Pike station on Sunday shot and killed a robbery suspect carrying an air gun.
Metro detectives are ruling the death of Jamie L. Sullivan, 37, a justifiable homicide.
Wearing a mask and carrying what appeared to be a pistol, Sullivan entered the Mapco market at 2101 Murfreesboro Pike at 1:45 a.m.
Eric Gordon, 22, was also in the market. Sullivan pointed his pistol at Gordon's head and threatened to kill him. Sullivan told Gordon to surrender his holstered gun and a struggle ensued. Gordon drew his 9-millimeter weapon and shot Sullivan once in the face. Sullivan died at the scene.
Shortly after, detectives discovered that Sullivan's gun was a BB pistol that looked like a real gun.
Metro police had charged Sullivan with 146 offenses since June 1989. His last arrest was for trespassing Nov. 20.
Labels: business robbery, TN
12/25/08
Anniston, Alabama
From the Huntsville Times of December 25, 2008
Robbery suspect shot dead, alleged accomplice wounded
A would-be robber was shot dead overnight Wednesday and his alleged accomplice was wounded after they attempted to rob the owner of a gas station near Anniston.
Calhoun County Sheriff Larry Amerson said the gun-toting suspects and the owner got into a shootout around 6:30 p.m. Tuesday at Fuller's Oil Company on U.S. 431.
Amerson said 21-year-old Takeem Pope of Anniston appeared to have died of a single gunshot wound. The other man, 19-year-old Blake Jackson, also of Anniston, was shot in the arm.
Amerson declined to name the owner, but said he acted in self-defense. He was not injured. Authorities said charges are pending against Jackson, who was taken to UAB Hospital for treatment.
Labels: AL, business robbery
12/22/08
Dallas, Texas
From the Houston Chronicle of December 17, 2008
Police ID suspect killed in bank robbery attempt
Police on Wednesday identified the suspect and the security guard who fatally shot him during an attempted bank robbery in south Dallas.
The suspect in the attempted bank robbery Tuesday was 31-year-old Christopher Sebastian Jones.
Jones was fatally shot inside a bank after exchanging gunfire with security guard Matthew Scott Prindle, 36. Jones entered a branch of Chase Bank and shot at Prindle, who was grazed in the upper body but not seriously injured. Prindle returned fire, striking Jones, who died inside the bank.
Members of a police tactical unit entered the bank after seeing a woman hiding under a desk. Officers then found Jones' body.
Labels: business robbery, defender shot, private security, TX
Indianapolis, Indiana
From the Indianapolis Star of December 22, 2008
Man fatally shot during robbery identified
Police have identified the man who was fatally shot while trying to rob a Westside grocery Sunday night and the employee who shot him.
Miguel Mondragon, 29, Indianapolis, shot Christopher Barreto, 23, also of Indianapolis, after Barreto reportedly pointed his gun at a woman with a baby, said Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Sgt. Matthew Mount.
Barreto walked into El Michoacana Supermarket at 6240 W. 34th at 8:50 p.m. brandishing a handgun and herded all the customers into one part of the store, Mount said. When the robber pointed the gun at the woman and her child, Mondragon shot him, using a gun belonging to the store's owner.
Barreto was taken to Wishard Memorial Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Police are calling the shooting justified, but evidence will be turned over to the Marion County prosecutor's office for a final determination, Mount said.
Labels: business robbery, home invasion
Irvine, Kentucky
From the Lexington Herald-Leader of December 22, 2008
Guard shoots man in store robbery
A security guard shot the alleged would-be robber of a grocery store Sunday night, Irvine police said.
Police would not identify the two men, but Officer Brian Brooks said the wounded man was taken to University of Kentucky Hospital for treatment.
Brooks responded to a call at 7:17 p.m. Sunday at Priceless Foods, 1012 Winchester Road in Irvine. Upon entering, he found a man, armed with a small-caliber revolver, slumped over the cash register. The man, in his 20s, then fell to the floor.
The guard had shot the man with a .357 Magnum, Brooks said.
Labels: business robbery, KY, private security
Chandler, Arizona
From December 21, 2008 KNXV channel 15:
A store owner shot by a would-be robber is expected to make a full recovery following a shootout Saturday night in Chandler.
Police said two men walked into Christopher Diamonds at Chandler Boulevard and Coronado just before 7 p.m.
One had a gun and apparently tried to rob the place.
Police said Christopher Diamonds is a family run business and only three people were in the store at the time, including the owner, his wife and his son.
Another employee was outside the business.
Police said the owner, Rusty Uptain, grabbed a gun to defend his family and store.
A gun battle ensued and both Uptain and one of the suspects, 46-year-old Kevin William Murray, was shot.
Police said Uptain was shot in the face, but is expected to be okay.
Murray reportedly jumped into a stolen pick-up truck and fled the scene.
A police officer spotted the truck and chased him to the 101 and Broadway in Tempe.
That's where they said Murray died.
At about 8:15 p.m., a police dog tracked the scent of the second robber, 27-year-old Kenneth Wayne Simpson Jr.
Officers peeled out of the parking lot and caught Simpson a few blocks away near a wash.
Police said the suspects did not steal anything.
Family spokesperson Nancy Uptain told ABC 15, "My brother-in-law is an incredible marksman he's a hunter and we're very gratefully for our gun rights because with him being able to have his own protection he was able to save his family."
"These men came in and they had full intentions of killing the family and taking the jewelry," she said.
"It hit his nose the side of his nose and the corner of his eye."
Doctors are confident they are able to save not only Uptain's vision, but his eye.
Labels: AZ, business robbery, defender shot
12/18/08
Forrest Park, Georiga
From the Ledger-Enquirer of December 17, 2008
Employee kill would-be robber in Forest Park
A would-be robber was killed after he was shot in a gunbattle with an employee at a cell phone store in Forest Park.
Authorities said it happened Monday night at about 8 p.m.
Police identified the deceased suspect as 18-year-old Tyrie Rolland of Decatur. Rolland was shot in the head and died at Grady Memorial Hospital.
Detectives are working to identify a second suspect who fled in a white pickup truck.
Forest Park police major Chris Matson said it appeared the worker acted in self-defense.
Labels: business robbery, GA
Largo, Maryland
From WJLA of December 12, 2008
Police: Liquor Store Owner Kills Would-be Robber
The co-owner of a Largo liquor shot and killed a man during an attempted robbery Friday, police said.
Bill Miles, another co-owner of Kettering Liquors, was there. He saw the shooting. He says the would-be robber came in with a gun and a struggle ensued. Officers say it ended when Miles' business partner pulled out his gun and shot the man.
"There were a lot of us in the tussle and so it didn't work out too well for the other guy," Miles said. "It's tragic. Somebody died today. Good news is, it wasn't one of us. It was the bad guy."
The owner who shot the man was identified as Bill Robertson by Carolyn Tucker, a store employee.
"He must have thought somebody was going to get hurt," she said.
Tucker arrived for work around 8:30 Friday morning. She was met by police officers, crime scene tape and the news one of her employers shot and killed a robber. Tucker said it was the first hold-up she knew of at Kettering Liquors.
Solly Sellers, a Kettering Liquor customer, defended the co-owner's actions: "Would you defend yourself if you got robbed? Sure you should defend yourself. Why not?"
The co-owner who opened fire has not been charged. Investigators will determine whether the shooting was justified.
A handgun was recovered from the deceased man at the scene, police said.
Neighboring business owners in the shopping center say the area has been plagued with crime. The liquor store is protected by bars on its windows and, according to a friend of the owner, it has barbed wire in the ceiling to protect against burglars who come in through the roof.
Kevin McMann, another merchant in the Largo Plaza, said, "It's unfortunate for the robber, but it, you know, had to be done, in my opinion. Maybe it'll send a message out to other people: Don't mess with the owners."
Labels: business robbery, MD
12/11/08
St. Petersburg, Florida
From the Tampa Bay Online of December 7, 2008
St. Pete Storeowner Chases, Shoots At Armed Robbers
When John Silva opened his St. Petersburg variety store about 9 a.m. Sunday, he brought Gertrude with him.
Gertrude, he says, was his grandfather's .22 caliber Sentinel Arms revolver. Silva's other gun, Betsy – a .380 caliber semiautomatic pistol – was taken by St. Petersburg Police Saturday as evidence.
Two men came in to John's Variety, 208 4th St. N., at about 8 p.m. Saturday, says Silva. Their faces were covered with something resembling a ninja mask, he says.
They pointed what looked like a .45 caliber handgun at him.
"They told me and a customer to 'get on the floor, give me your money,'" says Silva on the phone while tending to a customer looking for Tylenol. "I moved as if going down on the floor, reached for my gun, stood back up with the .380 in my hands and they ran like jackrabbits."
Silva, 53, says he followed the men out of the store.
"I let three rounds go," he says. "Unfortunately, I missed them."
Not long after Silva chased the would-be robbers, St. Petersburg police arrested two men they say tried to rob the store.
One, Benjamin Roland Jones, 19, 934 10th Ave. S., was picked up on Central Avenue.
The other, Cory Jay Smith 21, was found hiding in a nearby lake and received a minor bite from a police K-9 dog, police said.
Smith, 985 Melrose Ave. S., is being held in the Pinellas County Jail on a bond of $50,000.
A former cook aboard the submarine U.S.S. Andrew Jackson and, more recently, a Merchant Marine, Silva says his actions were partly the result of his military training, partly instinctual.
"I was taught how to use a gun in the Merchant Marines," he says. "Just how to use and shoot a gun, what to do if we get pirates on board. Nothing like what I had to deal with last night, close, face-to-face contact. I don't consider myself tough. But I can handle myself. I used to be a bouncer."
When the two men pointed a gun at him, Silva says he just reacted.
"I wasn't thinking," he says. "But you ain't getting my money. I instinctively grabbed the gun which I call Betsy. A girl's name, an appropriate name as far as I am concerned."
Gertrude, he says, may be old, but still works.
"It used to be my grandfather's gun, from when he was the harbor master for Provincetown, Mass.," he says.
Silva says he was hoping the guys he shot at were connected to other recent armed robberies in St. Petersburg.
"This would have stopped them and they could go to jail for a long freaking time," he says.
However, after questioning the two men, police say they do not appear to be connected with recent armed robberies that left two brothers – owners of different stores - wounded.
...
Silva says there was no question about opening up his store after the robbery.
"I had no second thoughts," he says. "I just brought another gun from home."
Labels: business robbery, FL
