A robber’s recent attempt to take advantage of an elderly liquor store owner in California in a situation he would have thought of as an easy heist has proved to be defective as it immediately went wrong.
The main suspect and some friends had visited the Liquor store this fateful day. Reports have it that this event occurred on Sunday at about 2:45 am at Norco Market & Liquor, located in the 2800 block of Clark Avenue. The squad arrived at the store in a Black SUV, and as they noticed it was just the elderly store owner around, they tried to rob the store as they believed they had hit the jackpot.
Footage from the surveillance camera shows the suspect wearing a red and black sweatshirt and a ski mask entering the store before he points a rifle at the 80-year-old man standing behind the counter. He, however, ran out of luck at that moment as the store owner was equipped with his shotgun right there. As he noticed he was about to be robbed, the store owner immediately brought out his shotgun and opened fire on the man, who immediately ran away from the store. His accomplice, also armed with a rifle, was caught on the CCTV camera as he exited the SUV upon seeing a suspect running out of the store. Noticing the blood and the situation they just got themselves in, they both ran back into the SUV and zoomed off.
The suspects were later located at a hospital in South California by the Police. One suspect, who had gone into the store, was found suffering from a gunshot wound consistent with a shotgun blast. Three other suspects were located at the same hospital in the SUV caught on camera. This vehicle, which was previously reported to have been stolen, was found to contain numerous stolen firearms.
The four suspects part of the “he shot my arm off” incident were identified as Justin Johnson, 22, of Inglewood, Jamar Williams, 27, of Los Angeles, Davon Broadus, 24, of Las Vegas, and a primary suspect. The three suspects, who were uninjured, were taken into custody at the Robert Presley Detention Center for robbery and conspiracy from the hospital parking lot. The wounded man, however, remained hospitalized as he was in a critical but stable condition but will be joining his squad immediately after he is released. They have been charged with robbery and conspiracy and are held in lieu of $500,000 bail, further reported NY Post.
The elderly store owner has since then been praised as a hero. His customers and neighbors have also been singing his praises, making statements like, “The criminals are in control of everything right now, and the fact that he showed them what for, I think, is amazing,” and “More businesses should be armed like that and defend their business like that.”
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Even deputies have commended him as they wrote in a press release: “In this case, a lawfully armed member of our community prevented a violent crime and ensured their own safety, while being confronted with multiple armed suspects,”
Sadly, the store owner suffered a heart attack shortly after the incident but is fortunately in the hospital recovering after the health scare. The public is, however, excited that karma didn’t wait for long before catching up with these men as robbing cash registers is still very illegal in California.