pawn shop robbery

[smyrna]

I actually bought a gun at this shop from the deceased some years back. Nice guy. I can't believe the slim of humanity sometimes and it reinforces why I carry.

THe police spokesperson in the article below indicates that daytime robberies aren't uncommon and in another article he is quoted as saying, "We (the police) can't always be there to protect."

http://www.news-journal.com/search/cont ... bbery.html

[NcongruNt]

Answers sought, reward offered
Pawn manager killed; Cash America puts $20,000 price tag on information leading to suspect's arrest, indictment

By ANGELA WARD

Tuesday, December 11, 2007

Cash America International is offering a $20,000 reward to help find the person who robbed and killed the assistant manager of a local pawn shop Monday morning.

Longview Police Sgt. Shaun Pendleton said he was not aware of any connection between the robbery that left Melvin Brad Mitchell dead and three other robberies that were committed in Kilgore and Lakeport between Saturday and early Monday. However, he said detectives would investigate any similarities.

Longview Police Department officers enter Cash America Pawn after an armed robbery and shooting Monday in the 1700 block of South High Street in Longview.


Mitchell, 56, of Longview, was pronounced dead at 10:08 a.m. Monday at Good Shepherd Medical Center, about an hour after the robbery, Pendleton reported. The robbery occurred under an awning attached to Cash America Pawn at 1709 S. High St.

Yolanda Walker, public affairs director for Cash America, announced during a press conference Monday afternoon that the $20,000 reward is being offered for information that leads to the arrest and indictment of the person responsible for Mitchell's death. It will be in addition to any rewards from Crime Stoppers.

Pendleton said preliminary information indicates Mitchell was leaving the pawn shop to make a deposit at the bank when he was accosted on the south side of the building. The suspect took an undisclosed amount of cash before running away.

Most other robberies in Longview within the past few weeks have involved several suspects, Pendleton said. He said it seems unlikely that this robbery is related to other recent robberies because it was committed by one person. However, he said that possibility cannot be ruled out. Daytime robberies are not uncommon, he said.

Mitchell's funeral services are pending with Rader Funeral Home of Longview. Walker said he had been employed by Cash America since 1994.

Vickie Jackson, a Lakeport resident and longtime customer of the store, said she had been driving toward it shortly after 9 a.m. when she noticed the police officers and ambulance in the parking lot.

"He'd worked at the store for a long time, because I remember coming in and talking to him when I was pregnant with my daughter and she's 13 now," Jackson said. "He was a really nice man. This is the only pawn shop I've ever dealt with, because I trusted him to take care of me."

Mitchell's death is the third fatality in connection with a robbery during Cash America's 25-year history, Walker said. The Fort Worth-based company has locations in 23 states. The Longview location has four employees, although not all of them were in the store at the time of the robbery.

"He was one of those employees that everybody loved," Walker said. "He always had a smile on his face."

While the company will review its security procedures as a result of this incident, it is too soon to say whether Cash America will make any changes concerning the company's cash policy, she said.

Anyone with information about the robbery should contact the Longview Police Department at (903) 237-1110 or Gregg County Crime Stoppers at (903) 236-STOP.

Gregg County investigators will determine if three aggravated robberies that were committed between Sunday and Monday are related, according to Chief Deputy Chuck Willeford.

— On Saturday night, sheriff's deputies went to a residence in the southern part of Gregg County. The deputies were informed that a man wearing a ski mask had attempted to rob someone outside of the home, according to a press release from the sheriff's office. The suspect had followed the home's resident from Longview in a sport utility vehicle and then demanded money from the resident at gunpoint. Another man was sitting in the vehicle.

The resident screamed for a neighbor, and the suspects left the location without getting any money. The victim was not injured.

— On Sunday night, sheriff's deputies were called to Trav's Mini Mart in the 5300 block of Farm-to-Market Road 1252 near Kilgore. The deputies were informed that a man had robbed the cashier at gunpoint, the sheriff's office reported. No one was injured during the robbery.

— Around 2:30 a.m. Monday morning, sheriff's deputies went to the 500 block of Peach Orchard Road in Lakeport. The deputies were informed that a man wearing a ski mask had robbed a taxi driver. The suspect had entered the cab and sprayed a chemical agent, possibly pepper spray, into the driver's eyes.

The suspect demanded money from the driver, who told him it was in her bag. The suspect left the taxi and walked towards Jones Road. The driver followed the suspect in her taxi until he entered an older model pickup occupied by another man.

The victim was treated for eye irritation, but she did not need further care, the sheriff's office reported.

Anyone with information about the robberies should contact the Gregg County Sheriff's Office Criminal Investigation Division at (903) 236-8408 or Gregg County Crime Stoppers at (903) 236-STOP.

Staff writer Randy Ross contributed to this story.

[seamusTX]

While the company will review its security procedures as a result of this incident, it is too soon to say whether Cash America will make any changes concerning the company's cash policy, she said.

In other words, they would rather risk employees' lives than pay for an armored car.

- Jim