Decatur, Tennessee

From the Decatur Daily News of May 8, 2007

Decatur clerk pulls gun to thwart would-be robbery

A convenience store clerk scared away a would-be robber by pulling a gun, Decatur police said Monday.

The incident took place at Jet Pep, 106 Sixth Ave. N.E., shortly before 11 p.m. Friday.

Pretending to buy a drink from the cooler, the woman waited until the clerk, Gayathri Penmathsa, opened the register. The woman then told Penmathsa to give her the money from the drawer, police said.

Lt. Chris Mathews, a police spokesman, said Penmathsa pulled out a revolver kept under the counter for protection and pointed it at the woman, who ran out of the store.

The woman was described as 5-feet 3-inches tall, 180 pounds, and about 35 years of age with brown hair and brown eyes. She was wearing a white shirt and blue jeans and left in a red Ford Taurus.