Spokane, Washington

From Spokane’s KXLY.com of June 28, 2005

Thief Held at Gunpoint in Spokane Valley

A would-be burglar chose the wrong store to break into in the Spokane Valley over the weekend.

Deputies arrested 24-year-old Brian Dukes early Sunday morning at the Fitness Fanatics store on East Trent. Deputies say Dukes broke a window to get in the back door. He then disabled the security system by pulling it off the wall.

The store's owner and a security specialist were notified. The security specialist who is a former ATF agent went to the store armed with a rifle. He held Dukes at gunpoint until authorities arrived.

From a participant

I was browsing the web this morning and came across your reference to a story from Spokane. I am the "security specialist" referenced in the article. I think this is an example of the media wanting to downplay the importance of civilians using firearms for useful purposes. I am not a "security specialist" but just a computer geek. I didn't have a rifle, I had a Glock 26, the store is cluttered and there are racks of merchandise all over the place so a rifle would not be the ideal choice of weapons. I was an ATF SA many years ago. The perp was armed with a large knife.

Mike Scalera
Spokane, Washington