Shopper Stops Robber

A grocery store customer in Indianapolis is being credited with halting an armed robbery by pulling his own weapon and pointing it at the assailant until police arrived. (link to original story)

According to a report in the Indianapolis Star, Charlie Merrell, 51, was in a checkout line at 5:17 PM at Bucks IGA when a "masked man jumped a nearby counter and held a gun on a store employee."

"While the suspect was demanding cash from the workers," according to the police report, "Merrell pulled his own handgun, pointed it at the robber and ordered him to put down his weapon."

From the police documentation of the incident: when the suspect seemed to hesitate, "Merrell racked the slide on his gun to load a round in the chamber."

At that point, "the suspect placed his gun and a bag of cash on the counter, dropping some of the money … the suspect removed his mask and lay on the floor."

Merrill held the suspect at gunpoint until officers arrived and took him away in handcuffs.

Police reported Merrell had a valid permit to carry the handgun, and they recovered an unloaded .380-caliber handgun and $779 cash from the suspect.

Police records show Dwain Smith, 19, was being held in the Marion County Jail on a bond of $30,000 on initial charges of robbery, criminal confinement, pointing a firearm, battery and carrying a handgun without a license.

This kind of reminds me of Jeff Spicoli stopping a robbery, except with violence - he burned the 'suspect' with hot coffee. Oh, yeah, and that was a movie.