Retailers Choose Guns for Defense Against Armed Robbers in AK and TX

Two retailers have chosen firearms as effective means of protecting themselves and their customers against armed robbers.  One store was a pizzeria, which had the unfortunate experience of having an armed robber shot and killed by an armed employee in Amarillo, Texas. The other was a drive-thru coffee stand in Anchorage, Alaska. Two sisters own the shop. They are on the left of the photograph.

The AK Sweet Cup in Anchorage, Alaska, was the victim of an armed robbery at about 4 p.m. on 8 January, 2018. The shop has a gun in the restaurant, but the employee did not feel they had a good opportunity to access and use it. The shop owners, two sisters, said that some of their employees are routinely armed. The safety of their employees comes first.  From ktva.com:

Samantha Brown and her sister Toni Whaley own AK Sweet Cup on Muldoon Road. The sisters said they had never been robbed in their four years in business but, that changed last Monday when a man in a stolen truck pointed a gun at a barista and demanded she empty the register.

Brown said the coffee stand does have a weapon inside but the barista didn't have time to reach it or feel safe to do so when she was threatened with a gun in her face.

Brown said it's their policy not to take chances.

"All of our employees are trained-- if they have a weapon, you give them what they want."

(snip)

"We are just waiting for the police to do what they need to do," said Brown.

In the meantime, Brown said they are doing what they need to do, including adding a second gun that is easily accessible under the counter. 

Brown said they may need it to keep their employees safe.

At La Bella Pizza in Amarillo, Texas, one of the employees was compelled to shoot and kill an armed robber who pointed a gun at him. The gun turned out to be an air pistol that was modified to look like a real gun. The response of the store owners show that defense of self and others is gaining legitimacy in the nation. The owners issued a statement. Here is the relevant portion. From myhighplains.com:

We at La Bella Pizza on Olsen are deeply saddened by the incident that occurred last Tuesday, January 9th. Our hearts go out to All the families that are involved during this trying time. Our policy always has and always will be that our employees are welcome to legally and responsibly possess the means to defend themselves and others around them.

The accomplice of the robber who was shot and killed will be charged with murder under the felony murder rule. This means the killing will be counted as a murder, not a justified homicide.  From amarillo.com:

Amarillo Police Department has identified the man shot at La Bella Pizza on Olsen Boulevard as Clayton Jerrell Morgan, according to a news release. Officers arrested his alleged accomplice, 29-year-old Ruben Ryel Rios, who police said was charged under the state’s felony murder rule that allows a person to be charged with murder if they are involved in a felony crime that causes a death.

The way the FBI Uniform Crime Reports (UCR) works virtually insures that felony murder rule homicides will be counted as murders, not justified homicides. It is one of the reasons the FBI UCR only catches about 20% of the justified homicides in the U.S.A.


©2018 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice and link are included.

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