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http://www2.oanow.com/oan/news/local/article/store_customer_clerk_help_foil_robbery_in_opelika/118906/#comments
Store customer, clerk help foil robbery in Opelika
Donathan Prater
Staff Writer
Published: December 30, 2009
On most days when John “Sonny” Ingram frequents the Shoppers Stop convenience store on Marvyn Parkway, all he shares is a little small talk with the owner and employees and occasionally helps out around the place.
This week, however, Ingram, 59, got a lot more than he bargained for. When he visited the Opelika store Tuesday, a pair of teenage robbers struck.
The cashier, Annricka Wright, had stepped to the rear of the business when the two entered.
“They said they wanted some cigarettes, so I walked up to the display to see if I could help them,” Ingram said. “As I turned around to show the guy the cigarettes, ... I had a pistol in my face.
“I ducked down and, as I did, he came over the store counter and told me to ‘give up the money.’”
Meanwhile, Wright overheard what was going on and used her cell phone to contact Opelika police.
“There was a box with money in it, and I just asked him not to shoot and gave it to him,” Ingram said. “When I did that, he cocked the gun and told me to give him the money in the register.”
That’s when Ingram noticed that the gun didn’t appear to be loaded.
“Usually, when you cock a gun like that, a round will eject, so I thought that perhaps there wasn’t a round chambered,” Ingram said. “So when he told me to open the register, I told him to open it himself.”
Ingram said a second robber then walked around behind the cash register and took the money from it.
Both robbers had their faces covered during the incident, Ingram said.
He said the pair began to fill their pockets with an assortment of cigarettes and cigars before running out the front door of the store.
“That’s when I got my pistol,” Ingram said.
Ingram said he got off a single shot at the robbers but missed. He said he was relieved about that after learning that the robbers were 14 and 16 years old.
“I thank God I didn’t kill either of them,” Ingram said. “I have a 15-year-old son of my own.”
Ingram attributed the behavior of the two teens to what he called “a lack of parenting.”
Opelika police units were in the area quickly and set up a perimeter around the store. They arrested the two teens a short while later.
“The quick actions of the store’s cashier helped us get the ball rolling on this one early,” Opelika Police Department Sgt. Bobby Kilgore said.
Ingram and Wright were surprised at the ages.
“They’re way too young to be acting like that,” Wright said.
The 16-year-old suspect was later identified as Ladarius Deion Payne of Opelika.
“From now on, I’ll have my strap (gun) and phone on me while I’m working at the store,” Wright said. Wright has worked as a cashier there for three years.
Unlike the civilians, Kilgore wasn’t surprised by the ages.
“Something like this doesn’t happen a lot of the time, but it does happen,” he said.
Both teens have been charged with first-degree robbery, Kilgore said.
http://www2.oanow.com/oan/news/local/article/store_customer_clerk_help_foil_robbery_in_opelika/118906/#comments
Store customer, clerk help foil robbery in Opelika
Donathan Prater
Staff Writer
Published: December 30, 2009
On most days when John “Sonny” Ingram frequents the Shoppers Stop convenience store on Marvyn Parkway, all he shares is a little small talk with the owner and employees and occasionally helps out around the place.
This week, however, Ingram, 59, got a lot more than he bargained for. When he visited the Opelika store Tuesday, a pair of teenage robbers struck.
The cashier, Annricka Wright, had stepped to the rear of the business when the two entered.
“They said they wanted some cigarettes, so I walked up to the display to see if I could help them,” Ingram said. “As I turned around to show the guy the cigarettes, ... I had a pistol in my face.
“I ducked down and, as I did, he came over the store counter and told me to ‘give up the money.’”
Meanwhile, Wright overheard what was going on and used her cell phone to contact Opelika police.
“There was a box with money in it, and I just asked him not to shoot and gave it to him,” Ingram said. “When I did that, he cocked the gun and told me to give him the money in the register.”
That’s when Ingram noticed that the gun didn’t appear to be loaded.
“Usually, when you cock a gun like that, a round will eject, so I thought that perhaps there wasn’t a round chambered,” Ingram said. “So when he told me to open the register, I told him to open it himself.”
Ingram said a second robber then walked around behind the cash register and took the money from it.
Both robbers had their faces covered during the incident, Ingram said.
He said the pair began to fill their pockets with an assortment of cigarettes and cigars before running out the front door of the store.
“That’s when I got my pistol,” Ingram said.
Ingram said he got off a single shot at the robbers but missed. He said he was relieved about that after learning that the robbers were 14 and 16 years old.
“I thank God I didn’t kill either of them,” Ingram said. “I have a 15-year-old son of my own.”
Ingram attributed the behavior of the two teens to what he called “a lack of parenting.”
Opelika police units were in the area quickly and set up a perimeter around the store. They arrested the two teens a short while later.
“The quick actions of the store’s cashier helped us get the ball rolling on this one early,” Opelika Police Department Sgt. Bobby Kilgore said.
Ingram and Wright were surprised at the ages.
“They’re way too young to be acting like that,” Wright said.
The 16-year-old suspect was later identified as Ladarius Deion Payne of Opelika.
“From now on, I’ll have my strap (gun) and phone on me while I’m working at the store,” Wright said. Wright has worked as a cashier there for three years.
Unlike the civilians, Kilgore wasn’t surprised by the ages.
“Something like this doesn’t happen a lot of the time, but it does happen,” he said.
Both teens have been charged with first-degree robbery, Kilgore said.