Should Bank Guards Be Armed?

Bank crimes data from the FBI show that when bank guards are armed with guns, bank robberies are three times as likely to become violent. [It would be better not to have bank guards at all then have guards that are unarmed. Unarmed guards would be pointless and unnecessarily dangerous for the officer.]

" Armed Guards and Bank Robbery," Center For Investigative Reporting, December 2014 

Criminal Justice Quote: Woman Invaded Fox Anchor's Home and Demanded Car

     On Monday afternoon February 9, 2015, a female intruder walked into the Millcreek, Utah home of Kerri Cronk and her family and demanded a car. Kerri Cronk, an anchor on Fox Network's "Good Day Utah" in Salt Lake City, was taking a nap during the home invasion…

     Tate Cronk, 15, heard the front door open and said he thought his brother had come home. When he didn't hear any noise, he sensed something was wrong. "It was really silent so I stood up and looked and just saw her standing there," he said. Seconds later, Kerri's husband Kevin realized what was going on. "She was telling me that she was being chased, some people were trying to kill her and she wanted a car," Kevin Cronk said…

     The suspect was holding a metal prying device, similar to a crowbar. It can be seen in her hand in the cellphone video captured by the 15-year-old. "After like 15 seconds she actually yelled for me to turn it off," Tate Cronk said.

     "She was aggressive and seemed either on drugs or maybe mentally not stable," the father added. "She actually said if you don't give me a car I'm going to kill you." Kevin and Tate Cronk complied with he demand. The woman drove off in the family's white Honda Pilot…

     Police described the suspect as a white female in her early 20s, about five-foot-tall with piercings on her nose and face.

"Police Respond To Aggravated Robbery At Home of Fox 13 Anchor," Fox News, February 9, 2015, 

Criminal Justice Quote: Arby's Customer Thwarts Robbery

     A Vernal, Utah man who just wanted to order food at an Arby's restaurant ended up thwarting a robbery attempt by a knife-wielding woman with a criminal history…The customer was placing his order in the drive-thru on Sunday January 25, 2015 when he realized the cashier was not responding to him. He pulled out of the drive-thru, parked his truck, and walked inside to place his order. In the store, one of the cashiers mouthed to him the words "We're being robbed."

     Stephanie Lee Lente, 37, was threatening cashiers with a knife and demanding money.

     "I went back out to my truck and got my gun," the man, a concealed carry permit holder, told a reporter…After retrieving his firearm, he returned to the restaurant and showed Lente that he had a gun and ordered her not to move. She didn't listen. "She came at me," the man said. "That's when I pointed my gun at her." After wrestling the knife from Lente he held her at gunpoint until the police arrived…

     Lente is being held in Uintah County of charges of aggravated robbery and possession of a controlled substance…Her criminal record includes charges of abuse of psycho-toxic chemical solvents, theft, assault, criminal mischief, violation of a protective order, and wrongful appropriation.

"Armed Arby's Customer Stops Knife-Wielding Robber," The Daily Caller, January 25, 2015 

Criminal Justice Quote: Pizza Gal Takes Down Robber

     Papa John's Pizza is standing by a pizza delivery woman who opened fire on an armed robber on January 11, 2015…The employee will not be fired from the company. She was making a delivery in Decatur, Georgia when a man approached her vehicle and forced her onto the ground at gunpoint…The woman, who had a gun in her pocket, was able to fire at the man while she lay on the ground, striking the assailant--Donquaz Stevenson--in the face.

     Stevenson was found later in a neighbor's yard…A second robbery suspect stole the delivery woman's silver 2000 Honda Accord... Stevenson was charged with armed robbery and treated for his gunshot wound at Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta…

     While Papa John's prohibits employees--including delivery drivers--from carrying firearms on the job, a pizza company spokesperson said the woman would remain on the job. She will be reassigned to another position. [Perhaps they should put her in charge of corporate security.]…

"Papa John's Pizza Stands By Employee Who Shot Armed Robber," Fox News, January 15, 2015

     

Criminal Justice Quote: Clerk Confronts Liquor Store Robbers

     A Tulsa, Oklahoma liquor store clerk took on four masked men during an attempted robbery…shooting and killing two and bringing an end to a serial robbery ring. The four men entered Ryan's Liquor store at ten-thirty Tuesday night January 13, 2015…One of the robbers, 27-year-old Brian Powell, pulled a handgun and fired it while demanding money. But the clerk didn't comply. Instead, he pulled out a semi-automatic handgun and fired, hitting and killing Powell and 16-year-old Kevin Dobbs.

     The other two robbers, 20-year-old Lakeit Thompson and 17-year-old George Williamson, fled the scene but were later arrested and charged with armed robbery and felony murder. Both suspects had been involved in previous hold-ups…Powell was on probation for a larceny conviction…

Chuck Ross, "Store Clerk Takes on Four Armed Robbers," The Daily Caller, January 16, 2015 

69-Year-Old's Teen Girlfriend Orchestrated His Kidnapping

     "I thought this was going to be my last car ride," said a 69-year-old man. "My own personal car was going to be my hearse." The Southgate, Michigan man was the victim of a plan involving robbery and kidnapping set up by his 17-year-old girlfriend and two men in their 30s.

     On the night of January 2, 2015, the victim's girlfriend, Destiny Marie Gerwatowski, came up with the plan with suspects Alphonso Straughter Jr., 31 and Tajak Lewis Jackson, 36. "After they got my wallet they were ticked off because their was only $90 in it. That's when the crime became serious," said the unidentified victim. "They threw me in the trunk of my car and started backing out of the driveway."

     The man imprisoned in his own trunk used a lighter to find the emergency trunk release…"When I felt the car creep forward I bailed out."…He ran across the highway to a liquor store where he called 911…

     Gerwatowski, Straughter and Jackson were locked up on charges of carjacking, armed robbery, home invasion and unlawful imprisonment. The local prosecutor, despite the fact Gerwatowski was 17, charged her as an adult…All three could be sentenced up to life in prison….

"Southgate Man, 69, Escaped Kidnap," myfoxdetroit.com, January 7, 2015

      

Criminal Justice Quote: Family Dollar Stores in St. Louis Area Ban Hoodies

     Some Family Dollar stores in the St. Louis area have been experimenting with signs asking customers to take off their hoodies before they enter the stores. The signs read: "All Customers: Please remove hoods before entering Family Dollar." Managers at Family Dollar stores would not reveal the reasoning for the signs. However, the signs seem likely to be a response to an outbreak of shoplifting and armed robbery at St. Louis-area Family Dollar stores.

     For example, a man allegedly held an employee at gunpoint during a December 2014 robbery at a Family Dollar store on South Jefferson Street in St. Louis. At another area store on South Grand Avenue someone started shooting a gun…

     Some customers think the hoodie ban is discriminatory…Other customers were more supportive of the anti-hooddie signage…

     Family Dollar is a chain of discount variety stores with 8,100 locations in several states across the country. Most of the stores are located in low-income neighborhoods.

"Family Dollar Stores Face Scrutiny For Asking Customers to Remove Hoodies," The Daily Caller, January 5, 2015 

Criminal Justice Quote: The Manhattan Diamond Heist

     The search in New York City continues for two men who robbed a Manhattan jewelry store at gunpoint on November 11, 2014…The two men robbed the store in the middle of the afternoon. Police responded to the scene in force, sweeping the building looking for suspects…"All of a sudden we saw the SWAT team and all the cops outside the building," one witness said. Diamond district workers and shoppers say they got the scare of their lives…

     Investigators say just before 2:30 PM, two men posing as deliverymen buzzed for entrance into the Watch Standard Jewel Store saying they had some letters…"Suspect number one pulled out a firearm and demanded that the store empty out the safe and place the jewelry inside a bag," Deputy Chief William Aubrey said...

     The four employees inside the eighth floor wholesale and retail store complied but yelled for the owner to call 911. The first suspect then whipped the 56-year-old owner, leaving him with a minor injury while the second suspect waited in the hall…

     The first suspect had a black shoulder bag with a letter K in a blue circle. The second suspect was wearing black True Religion jeans. Police haven't revealed how much jewelry the robbers walked off with.

"Police Investigate Armed Heist in Diamond District," NY1.com, November 12, 2014 

Criminal Justice Quote: The "AK-47 Bandit" Strikes Again

     Authorities are on the hunt for a bank robber after he struck again in August 2014 after a nearly two-year hiatus. The hold-up man is said to have robbed the First Nebraska Bank in Nebraska City, Nebraska on August 22, 2014. He is wanted in connection to a string of other bank robberies in Idaho, Washington and in California. In one of these 2012 robberies he shot a police officer…

     The suspect, dubbed the "AK-47 Bandit," stormed the bank in Nebraska with an assault style rifle and a black duffle bag…He emptied the front drawers before ordering all employees to the vault area. He told one employee to take money from the safe…

     The suspect has blue eyes, wears a black mask, a bullet-proof vest, and gloves. He's believed to be about 5 feet, 9 inches tall and weighs somewhere between 175 and 200 pounds. There is a $100,000 reward for information leading to his capture.

"Suspected Serial Bank Robber Strikes Again," CNN, August  31, 2014

     

Criminal Justice Quote: Good Thing the Robber Assaulted Jerimiah Willey

     Call it a mixed blessing--one that may have saved an Arizona convenience store employee's life. When Phoenix Circle K manager Jerimiah Willey was pistol-whipped during a robbery last month, he landed at St. Joseph's Hospital with a head injury that required eight staples. "He hit me in the head twice, and then throughout the whole thing, he was nudging me with the gun." Willey said.

     The hospital did a CT scan and discovered something far worse--a massive and potentially life-threatening brain tumor. "They said that had this not been found and found soon, he probably just would have gone to sleep one night and not been able to wake up," his wife, Alisha Willey said.

     Jerimiah is recovering from the first of what's expected to be three brain surgeries….The surgery has left him partially paralyzed, with slurred speech and some loss of hearing. He's undergoing therapy. Although the road ahead for the Willeys and their three children is uncertain, they're hopeful that the slow-growing tumor is benign and was caught before it was too late. A fund has been set up to help pay for the family's medical expenses….

Ed Payne and Dave Alsup, "Arizona Store Employee Discovers Brain Tumor After He's Pistol-Whipped," CNN, June 13, 2014

Criminal Justice Quote: Bad Boy Bieber in Trouble Again

     Pop star Justin Bieber has been accused of attempted robbery, Los Angeles police said Tuesday night, May 13, 2014. TMZ reports that the incident allegedly took place Monday night at Sherman Oaks Castle Park, a complex in the San Fernando Valley with miniature golf and a batting cage.

     The alleged female victim claims Bieber demanded to see her phone so he could erase any photos taken of his entourage, according to the report. The singer grabbed the woman's phone when she refused to give it to him. The woman claims that after taking the phone, Bieber demanded that she unlock the device to see if she had taken any photos….She eventually proved no photographs had been taken.

     The alleged victim said the singer screamed at her and her 13-year-old daughter, saying, "You're humiliating yourself in front of your daughter. Why don't you just get out of here?" The woman's daughter then started crying….

     LAPD officer Rosario Herrera told The Los Angeles Times that detectives were interviewing the victim of the alleged attempted robbery. Detectives have not questioned Bieber.

"Justin Bieber Accused in Attempted Robbery, Police Say," Fox News, May 14, 2014 

Criminal Justice Quote: Robbers Victimize Woman En Route to the Hospital to Have a Baby

     Police say a woman…in labor and her boyfriend were robbed in Annapolis, Maryland as they headed to a hospital. The couple was confronted by three men with guns as they left an apartment early Sunday, March 2, 2014. When the pregnant woman's boyfriend fled…the suspects tried to get her to let them into the apartment, but she didn't have a key.

     That's when two of the men took off in the victim's car….After a chase, police arrested 24-year-old Devery Kelly of Annapolis and 44-yeasr-old Cornell Robinson of Washington, D.C. The woman was taken to the Anne Arundel Medical Center….

"Police: Woman Going to Hospital in Labor Robbed," ABC News, March 3, 2014 

Criminal Justice Quote: Smash and Grab Robbers Hit Jewelry Store in Mall

[On January 18, 2014] men with sledgehammers robbed a jewelry story at a crowded Memphis, Tennessee mall….Five or six suspects entered Reed's Jewelers at 8:00 PM Saturday and began smashing display cases with hammers….The gang took 65 Rolex watches, stuffing them into pillow cases and running out nearby mall exits. [Jewelry stores should not be located near mall exits.]

Associated Press, January, 18, 2014

Criminal Justice Quote: NYC's Armored Car Heist

     The FBI is hunting three brazen armored car robbers who struck in a midday robbery in Queens on Friday, January 31, 2014. Authorities say a GardaWorld armored truck arrived at the HSBC Bank located at 82-57 Broadway. One of the armed guards entered the bank to make a regularly scheduled pick-up. As the guard was leaving with the money, he was attacked by three Asian or Hispanic males at gunpoint in the ATM lobby.

     As they fled with the cash, the robbers sprayed the guards with mace. The men were dressed in heavy winter clothes, and after leaving on foot, may have driven away in a navy blue or black Ford Explorer getaway vehicle….

     GardaWorld is offering a reward of up to $50,000 in the case. It did not disclose how much money was stolen….

Luke Funk, "3 Wanted in Brazen Armored Car Robbery," MYFOXNY, February 1, 2014