Armed witness wounds robber at store

[neal6325]

Armed witness wounds robber at store
By ALEX BRANCH
Star-Telegram Staff Writer
FORT WORTH -- It was a phone call he says he'll never forget -- his wife's voice on his cellphone pleading "there's nothing in my purse" to someone pointing a gun at her.

That's what a 56-year-old Fort Worth man, who is licensed to carry a concealed weapon, said he heard before he shot an armed robber late Tuesday at a Fort Worth grocery store.

"I still can't believe it," the man said. "You tell yourself this will never happen. Then you run to the store in your house shoes and practically your pajamas ... and it happens."

The Star-Telegram is not identifying the man -- police are calling him a good Samaritan -- because he said he is afraid for his family's safety.

One suspect is recovering from gunshot wounds in the hospital, but at least two robbers remain at large, police said.

The man said he and his wife made a late stop at the store for yogurt and soda. He sat outside in the car while his wife went inside, and he soon noticed two men crouching suspiciously in the parking lot.

About 11:30 p.m., three men carrying semiautomatic weapons burst into an Albertsons at 3525 Sycamore School Road, in an "invasion-style manner," said Lt. Dean Sullivan, a police spokesman.

The robbers took purses and wallets from customers, he said.

Outside, the man said he watched the robbers go in and dialed 911.

He said he told the dispatcher that he was worried about his wife and was going inside.

"I was hoping she was still at the back of the store near the yogurt," he said. "But as I was walking up, she called my cellphone. I heard her talking about her purse and then I heard a loud banging sound."

He would later learn, he said, that the bang was his wife dropping her phone when a robber ripped the purse from her hands. At the time, he thought she might have been hurt, he said.

The man said he entered the store and saw a man pointing a gun at him, so he raised his hands in the air.

They both started to speak at the same time. Then, the man said, he sensed he was about to get shot.

"He has his finger on the trigger," he said.

So, he said, he drew his Beretta -- advertised as "The firearm that protects America" -- and fired first.

He couldn't tell whether he hit the robber, who fled out the door, he said. When the robber turned partly back toward him, he fired twice more. He saw the robber stumble.

Another man, apparently an accomplice, helped him escape through a field, he said. A third robber may have fled out another door.

Blood found on the ground led officers to believe that the robber had been shot, Sullivan said.

A short time later, Rayshaun Johnson was dropped off at Huguley Memorial Medical Center in south Fort Worth, police said.

He had suffered gunshot wounds to the buttocks and foot.

Johnson was under police guard at the hospital Wednesday, Sullivan said. He could face aggravated-robbery charges when he is released.

Officers found a gun that may have been used by one of the robbers while canvassing the area around the grocery store, he said. They also recovered customers' purses and wallets.

Detectives are looking into whether the same men were involved a robbery at a check-cashing business earlier Tuesday night, police said.

The man said he was questioned for about two hours after the shooting. Detectives told him that they didn't anticipate charges, he said.

On Wednesday afternoon, he said that he hadn't gotten any sleep since the shooting.

He said he got the concealed-weapon license in 1998 or 1999 because he traveled a lot.

"I didn't want to kill the guy," he said. "I'm glad he's going to live. But I didn't want to die either, so I defended myself."

Alex Branch, 817-390-7689

http://www.star-telegram.com/crime_cour ... 59251.html

[Wildscar]

FYI.... Duplicate post.

http://www.texasshooting.com/TexasCHL_F ... highlight=