Would-be robbers disguised themselves as members of a construction crew to gain the element of surprise during an incident in Walnut Creek, Calif. One of the alleged robbers entered a watch shop dressed in workman’s clothes with a clipboard in hand. He approached the counter and asked the owner to sign a form in order to shut off the power. As the owner was looking at the order, he was taken by surprise as the robber sprayed the proprietor and a nearby customer with pepper spray. An accomplice took a baseball bat to one of the display cases while his partner attempted to steal the items housed inside the display. The owner, meanwhile, collected himself and pulled out his firearm, causing the two suspects to scamper out and hightail it in a getaway car. (East Bay Times, Walnut Creek, CA, 4/26/17)
The Armed Citizen® Extra
Late one night, a trespasser drove his truck onto a remote ranch with the intention of burglarizing the property, the owner of which he had recently met. Once on the property, he embarked on a destructive spree, smashing into a barn, the rancher’s home, a truck and a propane tank, which subsequently causing a gas leak. The ranch owner armed himself with a pistol and ordered the vandal to stop the truck and get out. Instead of obeying, the madman began driving toward the rancher, who then fired several shots at him, hitting him. The driver drove off and was later found in his truck along the road. He was treated at the hospital after being charged for assault with a deadly weapon and felony vandalism. The ranch owner was not be charged because it “was a clear-cut case of self-defense,” according to the sheriff. (East Bay Times, Livermore, CA, 6/5/17)
From the Armed Citizen® Archives
July 1974
A youth entered Moses Hecht’s variety store in Lynn, Mass., pulled a knife and announced, “This is a stickup.” Hecht responded by pulling a pistol from his pocket and aiming at the would-be robber, who turned and fled. (The Daily Evening Item, Lynn, MA)
