ARMED CITIZEN | SEPTEMBER 2004 | ARCHIVE

Erica Rodeheaver said she and her husband, Russell, owners of Casteel’s Store and Dairy King in Hazleton, West Virginia, had an agreed-upon routine to follow in case their store was ever robbed. They followed that plan when the alarm was tripped at 12:42 a.m. one Wednesday. “My husband checked the back door, and it was secure,” said Rodeheaver. “He went to the kitchen door and it was ajar just a little bit.” She illuminated the outside of the building with the headlights on her Explorer while her husband continued to check the windows. The back door opened slightly, noted Rodeheaver, and then she noticed the robbers inside. She called out to her husband, who came around the back holding a shotgun. He told the intruders to come out of the building and sit down. Russell Rodeheaver held the pair, identified as David Elvis Dalton, Jr., and Ray Funk, until police took them into custody, charging them with breaking and entering.
(The Dominion Post, Morgantown, WV, 06/17/04)
...........................................................................................

Shop Rite clerk Abdrab Ashishi was preparing to close the convenience store for the night when a man dressed in black and wearing a white Halloween mask moved behind the counter. The masquerader, later identified as career criminal David Billups, pointed what appeared to be a gun at Ashishi, who retrieved a handgun and fired several shots at Billups, killing him. Hamilton County prosecutor Mike Allen commented that Ashishi was within his rights. “He did what he had the legal right to do: He got his weapon and fired,” said Allen.
(Bangor Daily News, Bangor, ME, 06/21/04)
...........................................................................................

Three people in a black Cadillac pulled into the Fuel-N-Go in Coburg, Oregon, about 11:35 p.m. One man got out of the vehicle and entered the convenience store. Motioning as though he had a gun in his sweatshirt, he demanded money from the store clerk, who gave him about $200 in cash. Apparently dissatisfied, the robber threatened to kill her. The clerk then drew her own gun, and the man ran out to the parking lot where he fought with a male attendant. Meanwhile, the clerk followed the thug outside and, when he motioned again to indicate he was armed, she fired a shot that blew out the Cadillac’s back window. The robber then jumped into the car, and the threesome took off as remnants of their ill-gotten gains floated through the air. Two men and a woman surrendered to a police canine unit soon after. Knives were seized during their arrest, and the three faced first-degree robbery charges.
(The Register-Guard, Eugene, OR, 06/25/04)
...........................................................................................

A man attempting to carjack a Cadillac DeVille from a gas station was shot and killed by the car owner. Brian Dean told DeKalb County, Georgia, police that when he stopped at a gas station on Glenwood Road about 3 a.m., an armed man approached and attempted to steal his car. Dean drew his own gun and shot the would-be carjacker, later identified as Banarrek Von Clayton, in the leg. Von Clayton managed to drive a short distance in the Cadillac, but succumbed to his wounds and crashed into a utility pole a few feet away.
(The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Atlanta, GA, 06/21/04)
...........................................................................................

Samuel “Lucky” Parker didn’t live up to his name when he was shot and killed during a store robbery—his second of the night. Parker had robbed a Texaco station just a half hour before entering the Sunrise Mart. Near closing time, Tamer Abdulwahab and his cousin, Abdulwahab Zeidan, were standing at the counter. Parker entered wearing dark clothing, a face mask, and a single glove. Abdulwahab thought it was some sort of prank until the masked man pulled a gun, aimed it at his cousin, and demanded money. Abdulwahab slipped out of sight long enough to draw his own gun and point it at Parker. Zeidan had been frozen behind the register, but when Parker cocked his gun, Zeidan slipped and fell. Parker then fired several shots, which hit the cash register just above Zeidan’s head. Abdulwahab fired at Parker, striking him twice. Realizing his luck had run out, Parker fled the store. Authorities later found his body in a nearby ditch. Neither cousin was injured, and when police recovered Parker’s pistol, they found it had jammed after he fired five rounds. “He was shooting at my cousin, my blood,” said Abdulwahab. “We are lucky to be here.”
(The Town Talk, Alexandria, LA, 06/21/04)
...........................................................................................

A Bergen, New York, homeowner returned to his house around 10 a.m. to discover two men and a woman in the process of burglarizing his home. The resident drew a handgun on the trio. When the men attempted to escape in a van, the homeowner punched out one of its windows. One of the men then threw gasoline at him from a can and the men took off. The homeowner continued to hold the woman at gunpoint until police arrived. Police later arrested the two men, and all three suspects were charged with burglary.
(Democrat and Chronicle, Rochester, NY, 05/26/04)

Studies indicate that firearms are used over two million times a year for personal protection, and that the presence of a firearm, without a shot being fired, prevents crime in many instances. Shooting usually can be justified only where crime constitutes an immediate, imminent threat to life, limb, or, in some cases, property. Anyone is free to quote or reproduce these accounts. Send clippings to: “The Armed Citizen,” 11250 Waples Mill Rd., Fairfax, VA 22030-9400.