Robbers routed. (Exercising the Right).
The Springfield, Ohio, area had been experiencing a string of armed robberies when two armed men entered the local Beverage Oasis store at about 11 p.m. on June 22nd.As one of the thugs, wearing a green mask and wielding a 12-gauge shotgun, approached the building, three persons at the store noticed him and scurried out a door (a fourth, who stumbled and fell on her way out, stayed on the floor and was not harmed).
The other robber, also masked and carrying a 20-gauge shotgun, ran after the three fleeing individuals as they frantically sought to flag down several cars before one finally stopped. The driver drove them to a phone further down the street so they could call police. The Springfield News-Sun for June 24th quoted Beverage Oasis manager Debbie Little as saying, "He seen them running. He seen the guy with the shotgun chasing them. Nobody wants to get involved in anything like this. We owe him a debt of gratitude."
Clifford A. Conley, owner of the establishment, was working in an office when, via a security camera, he saw the three persons running from the store. With another camera he saw the first robber banging on a cash register with his shotgun. As described by News-Sun staff writer Katy Scott, "Conley dialed 911 and, before speaking to anyone, left the phone off the hook to pick up a .22-caliber semi-automatic pistol. He came out of the office as the first robber ran through the drive-through.
"Conley told the man to stop and fired a warning shot. The gunman turned toward Conley and began to raise his gun, so Conley fired two shots at him. The man fell to the ground, dropped his weapon, got up and limped away."
When Conley glanced outside, the second man fired at him twice while helping the injured accomplice into their getaway car. Conley fired five or six shots in return. Neither man was hit. The empty-handed bandits then sped off.
In the aftermath of the ordeal, Conley told Scott, "I don't like getting shot at, and I don't like shooting at people, but I'd do it again." He was reluctant to discuss specifics of the incident, but Ms. Little said that her boss wished that it could have ended peacefully. "This is not something he's proud of," she asserted, but "they drew on him, and he fired back.... He had no resort but to fire back."
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| Title Annotation: | theft aborted |
|---|---|
| Author: | Lee, Robert W. |
| Publication: | The New American |
| Article Type: | Brief Article |
| Geographic Code: | 1U3OH |
| Date: | Aug 12, 2002 |
| Words: | 407 |
| Previous Article: | Scrappy. (Exercising the Right). |
| Next Article: | Exercising the Right. |
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