Durham, North Carolina



From the Durham Herald-Sun of January 10, 2004

Man opens fire on attempted armed robbers after work



The table was turned on a pair of armed robbers when one of their would-be victims opened fire on them Thursday night at the Oxford Commons shopping center.



Kelly Royster, 21, a five-month employee of Nationwide Warehouse, said he and a female co-worker were leaving work around 8:15 p.m. when the two robbers approached them.



The pair went straight for the woman, who was carrying the night's deposit, and demanded the bank bag, Royster said.



Since the business is behind the 3500 N. Roxboro Road shopping center and in close proximity to several apartment complexes, Royster said he had anticipated getting robbed at some point and had armed himself for the eventuality.



"I just pulled it out and got to shooting at them," Royster said. "I was trying to keep track of how many I was firing, because I only had one clip."



The robbers, apparently shocked by the turn of events, threw their gun at Royster and took off shouting for mercy, he said. A van parked nearby proved to be their salvation.



"They threw their pistol at me, they were screaming, 'Let me go, let me go,' " Royster said. "I could have hit them if I shot through the van, but I didn't want to shoot out a window."



The robbers hid behind a Dumpster, occasionally looking out at Royster, he said.



"They wouldn't come out from behind the Dumpster," he said. "Every time he ducked his head around the Dumpster, I was shooting at him."



Royster said he fired a total of five shots and held the pair at bay until police arrived. It turned out the suspects were armed with nothing more than a BB gun, but Royster said he didn't know that until police arrived.



"If I would have known it was a BB gun when he threw it at me, I would have gone behind the trash can and gave it to him," Royster said.



Police charged Stanley Lamont Hasty, 27, of 2920 New Haven Drive, with attempted robbery with a dangerous weapon, injury to personal property, communicating threats, assault with a deadly weapon and assault on female, a misdemeanor probation violation and an order for his arrest on charges of driving while license revoked. He was jailed on a $48,000 secured bond.



Meanwhile, Calvin Earl McCallum Jr., 20, of 3613 Wishart St., was charged with attempted robbery with a dangerous weapon, police said. He was jailed on a $25,000 secured bond.



Durham police Cpl. David Addison said different people have different reactions when faced with a traumatic event.



"If someone is definitely in fear for their life, then by all means, they have to do what's necessary, whether it's fighting back or succumbing," Addison said. "Flight or fight depends on each circumstance and the variables involved."



Addison, who was not familiar with the case, said Royster might have crossed the line when he continued shooting after Hasty and McCallum had dropped the weapon.



"The way the law is written is that you can use equal force that was enacted upon you," Addison said. "When he throws the gun down and that threat is no longer apparent, you can no longer use deadly force."



However, it appears that police are not seeking charges against Royster, who said he was just defending himself.



"They had a BB gun," he said. "They could have died for $1,000."