Posted on 04/14/2005 1:05:56 PM PDT by holymoly
Clerk Not Likely To Be Charged, Officials Say
FORT LAUDERDALE -- A liquor store became a crime scene Tuesday night after a clerk shot a teen who police said tried to steal a woman's purse.
According to police, Barbara Winters, 70, was opening her car door outside a Fort Lauderdale liquor store when Steven Wendal, 15, snatched her purse and took off.
The Story In Pictures: Alleged Victim: 'He Deserves To Be Shot At'
That's when the store clerk, Kingsly Brown, shot Wendal, police said. "I really was in shock. I commended him for using that kind of resolve to protect a customer," Winters said.
"He deserves to be shot at. He is a kid. He is a stupid kid. Kids do stupid things. He deserves to be shot at."
Wounded, Wendal raced a mile and a half through neighborhoods, knocking on doors for help. His trail of blood stopped on Kathleen Rouse's porch.
"I didn't know what to think. I was shocked and he wanted me to take him to the hospital and I said, 'No, I will call 911.' And he said, 'It's going to take too long for them to get here,'" Rouse said. The 911 call led police to arrest Wendal.
Although Wendal was not armed when Brown shot him, police said the clerk might not be charged. "We don't have a final say on that but we don't anticipate charges," Veda Coleman-Wright, of the Broward Sheriff's Office, said.
Winters said she is fine, until she tells her son what happens. "My son is going to kill me. What the guy didn't do last night, my son is going to do big time today," Winters said.
Winters said she will not go to liquor stores at 8 p.m. any more. But, she said she is not stressed out and is just a little tired from her ordeal, which lasted until 2 a.m. Wednesday.
Wendal, who was shot in the shoulder, recovered enough from his wound to appear in juvenile court Wednesday, where he was taken into custody on strong-arm robbery charges.
Thanks for the ping!
LOL! I can so see that and the kids falling down laughing.
Thanks for the story and for an idea worth trying. :-)
Punks who prey on elderly women deserve a speedy dispatch straight to Hell.
L
Yeah ... I know I sounded glib, and though not really meaning to sound like Charles Bronson in Death Wish, we old folks gotta send them killer kids to Hell. The Supremes won't.
I'd like to think this kid will have learned a lesson, but he won't.
The best we can hope is that he moves to NYC and plies his trade. ;)
Yes. Including, "Who will pay this old woman's rent after a robber makes off with her money?" Who will feed her pets? Who will watch after her home and pay her medical bills if she was injured during the snatching of her purse?
Obviously, this robber chose his victim because he expected that he could physically overpower her to the extent necessary to steal her money. If the old woman had been armed, then she could have overpowered the robber. BUT ONLY BY SHOOTING OR CREATING A CREDIBLE THREAT THAT SHE WOULD SHOOT.
Some people just ain't totally into this survival gig, I guess.
Get a patent! I'm sure those would be big sellers in So. Fla. Kinda like the exploding dye packs banks use.
When a 15-year old knocks a 70+ year old grandmother down -- just that fall is life-endangering. A broken hip is a major accident at that age.
ditto.
ha! I sense hostility from lots of people toward stupid cruel murderous thieving teenagers.
And heck, maybe she did him a favor. Maybe he'll make a career change and decide *against* advancing 'up the ladder' and becoming a druggie murderer.
I doubt this was his first time. Could have been his 50th. Whats his past history? Whe he is robbing you? What was he thinking. There isn't time to figure these things out. SHOOT THE SUCKER!!!!! and have no remorse.
"Horse thieves are hung ... not because they stole horses ... but so that horses will not be stolen. "
------ from an old movie about the wild west
"As I wrote that I was wondering the same thing too ... was it over-reacting; did the kid pose a threat "
How long before he graduates to armed robbery? Maybe this was just the medicine he needed.
I endorse this approach 100%
"He had a bad childhood, we all stray sometimes, blah blah blahhhh. Can't you feeeeeel his suffering?"
You would put your remote in the purse. :-)
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