Friday, May 26, 2000
Clerk wings would-be bandit
Police call it act of self-defense
By Sheila McLaughlin
The Cincinnati Enquirer
SPRINGBORO — One of two would-be robbers was recuperating from a gunshot wound Thursday and another was on the run after a service station clerk opened fire on the suspects.
Police called it an act of self-
defense against a teen who was pointing a loaded .380-caliber pistol and demanding money.
The shooting at the BP Service Station, 930 W. Central Ave., occurred two days after a judge in Cincinnati dismissed weapons charges against a pizza deliveryman, saying people with dangerous jobs should be allowed to carry guns.
While aggravated robbery charges were filed Thursday against both robbery suspects, Warren County Prosecutor Tim Oliver said he doesn't think the clerk broke any laws.
“The preliminary indications are that certainly no charges be filed against the clerk,” he said.
The clerk could not be reached because police would not release his identity. Employees at the station declined comment, referring all questions to company headquarters in Cleveland. A spokeswoman for BP Amoco did not return three calls.
Details from police were sketchy. But a prepared statement from Detective Tim Parker said the wounded 17-year-old had brandished a handgun when he and an accomplice walked into the BP and announced a holdup at 11 p.m. Wednesday.
The clerk fired at the suspects, striking the 17-year-old in the arm. The teen dropped his gun, leaving it behind as the suspects fled in a white midsized car
parked at a nearby automotive store, the statement said.
Authorities were searching for the second suspect Thursday, but did not release his name. Springboro Lt. Jim Barton said both suspects are from the Dayton, Ohio, area.
The 17-year-old was released from Miami Valley Hospital Thursday afternoon and jailed at the Warren County Juvenile Detention Center.
Lebanon criminal defense lawyer John Quinn said the shooting seemed justified.
“I would say that you are generally justified in using sufficient force to prevent impending danger. It's a gun vs. a gun. He was using the same force used on him,” Mr. Quinn said.
In a court decision Monday, Judge Thomas Crush of Hamilton County Common Pleas Court said a Norwood pizza delivery driver had a right to protect himself while working a job with a high risk for robbery.
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