Brewton, Alabama

From the Brewton Standard of October 10, 2005

Possible robbery stopped - Owner: "I have a gun, too"

A possible attempted armed robbery failed Tuesday, Oct. 4, when an alert business owner confronted the occupants of a vehicle.

According to East Brewton Police Chief B.C. Cooper, the department received a call on Tuesday morning from S & J Grocery, located on Shoffner Street, reporting a suspicious vehicle. An employee was carrying the trash out and noticed the car tag was covered up and the female driver was trying to keep her face covered with a camouflage cap. The employee returned to the store and reported to the owner, Richard Maxwell, what she had seen.

”We have been robbed several times in the last few years,“ he said. ”There were women and children in here this time and I knew that I couldn't let these people come into the store, if that was what they were planning. I had my gun in my pocket and walked out to the car. I saw a gun lying on the front seat and noticed that it was quickly covered up. I let them know that I had a gun and told them they could not come in. The woman was driving and she quickly sped away.“

(More about the suspects)