Posted on 09/05/2003 10:52:43 PM PDT by csvset
Teenage armed robber bested by 71-year-old on bus Last updated: 9:41 PM
By MELISSA SCOTT SINCLAIR, The Virginian-Pilot
© September 6, 2003
CHESAPEAKE -- Never underestimate a man a few decades older than you. He may also be a few degrees bolder.
That's what one young armed robber discovered recently when a 71-year-old man wrestled him down and tossed him off a bus.
The attempted robbery occurred in Eddie's Mobile Grocery, a maroon, 1988 GMC school bus that sells groceries in several communities in South Norfolk.
Eddie Brown, 68, is an affable, blue-eyed man who drives the bus five days a week around the neighborhoods, selling staples to those who can't always get to the supermarket.
George Etheridge, a trim, white-haired man of 71 with a few gold teeth, met Brown 20 years ago when they worked together as mechanics, repairing trucks. Now he helps Brown with the mobile store.
On the Friday before Labor Day, the bus was stopped on Fireside Road, near the Pleasant Village housing complex. Etheridge was in the driver's seat while Brown sat at the old-fashioned cash register in back. The only other passenger was a 6-year-old girl browsing the candy shelves.
Suddenly, a teenager jumped on the bus and pushed a semi-automatic pistol in Etheridge's face.
``He said, `Give me the money, man.' ''
Etheridge replied, ``I don't have no money to give you.''
The young man then turned to aim his gun at Brown, as the 6-year-old ran to the back of the bus to hide.
``Give me the money, before I kill y'all,'' the teen said.
That, Etheridge said, is when he got angry. He grabbed the teenager's arm, wrestled him down and pinned him against one of the metal cold boxes in the front of the bus.
Etheridge said he couldn't pull the gun free, so he threw his assailant out the door. As they scuffled on the pavement, the gun fired -- whether on purpose or accidentally wasn't clear.
``Then the guy scared, see,'' Etheridge said. The teenager ran away, but Brown knew where he lived.
When police arrived a few minutes later, they surrounded an apartment into which the suspected assailant had fled. After obtaining a search warrant, they found two teenagers and a Glock 23 .40-caliber semiautomatic pistol inside, said police Officer Kiley Roberts, who was first on the scene.
A Chesapeake police spokeswoman said the suspect, who is 15 years old, has been charged with attempted armed robbery, using a firearm in a felony and two counts of attempted malicious wounding.
The other teenager, a 13-year-old, was charged with being an accessory after the fact and obstruction of justice.
It was a stupid risk for the young man to take, Brown said. Even on the best of days, he said, he makes only about $300. That's not worth a prison sentence.
Brown was robbed once before. Three years ago, a 16-year-old boarded the bus and pointed a gun at Alfie ``Dion'' Wilkins, a Pleasant Village man who sometimes rides with Brown.
``He could have killed us. He could have shot us,'' Brown said. But the teenager just grabbed the day's takings and ran. He was later caught and sent to prison, Brown said, but now he's back in the neighborhood.
Brown, who has been driving the bus for eight years, said the recent robbery attempt shook him up but won't stop him from making his neighborhood rounds. People depend on his store for daily necessities, he said.
Etheridge said the attempted robbery made him mad but not afraid. ``You can't do but kill me. I come here to die,'' he mused, looking out the window of the bus.
That was all Etheridge had to say about the incident.
``He don't say much,'' Brown said with a chuckle. ``He's action.''
Reach Melissa Scott Sinclair at 222-5208 or e-mail melissa.sinclair@pilotonline.com
Paul Kersey, - Death Wish 4: The Crackdown
Give him another five, ten years worth of seasoning. Sounds like a natural 'Rat senator. :)
/sarcasm
``You can't do but kill me. I come here to die,''
If that's not quote of the day, then I don't know what is.
I have a feeling that this will be a perferred subject of ridicule by the kids future cell mates.
George Etheridge, left, and Eddie Brown talk aboard Eddie’s Mobile Store, the scene of last week’s attempted robbery. Etheridge fought with the armed robber and scared him away. The suspect was captured later by police.
Not only is he bold, he's got a good attitude, too.
I can hear the one on the left saying to the robber,"See, I told you I'd go old school on your a$$."
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