MONROE, NC — An armed robber got the drop on a cookout customer in Monroe, North Carolina late one night earlier this month.
Unfortunately for the would-be robber and his accomplice, the robber picked a veteran of both the Army and law enforcement.
The poor thug just about lost his life to his own gun.
As WSOCTV.com reports:
Hughes told Channel 9 he was in the drive-thru around 1 a.m. Tuesday when a man stuck a gun through his window and demanded money.
“My first thought was to take the gun away from him,” Hughes said.
Training from 24 years spent in law enforcement and eight years in the Army kicked in. Hughes wrestled the robber for the gun and even thought he may have to shoot the suspect with his own gun… Once Hughes had the gun, the suspect ran off. Hughes followed the suspect’s vehicle so he could get a description of it and the tag number for police. He said he was on the phone with 911 dispatchers when the suspect leaned out the car window and fired two shots at him.
“Apparently they had a pistol in the vehicle,” Hughes said. “I’m not aware of what it actually hit, but I’m just glad it missed me.”
Hughes stopped following the car and waited for police. Soon after, officers spotted the car and arrested the suspected robber, Eddie Blackwell, and the man he was with, Johnathan Baker. Blackwell and Baker face several charges, including attempted robbery and conspiracy.
There is one thing in North Carolina that no man, woman, or child can violate under any circumstance — and it’s not Lexington-style barbecue sauce.
You do not, ever, mess with our Cookouts. As I sit here eating food from the first Cookout built as I write, this hits home pretty hard.
Just as well the robber and his accomplice encountered a military and law enforcement veteran. The fact of the matter is if the officer had decided to push the engagement to really neutralize the threat two people might have died that night.
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