Wednesday, May 23, 2007

Oakland, California

From the May 23, 2007 Oakland Tribune:
OAKLAND _ A man trying to rob a North Oakland gas station at gun point Tuesday morning was shot in the face by the owner, police said.

The suspect, a 22-year-old Stockton man whose name was not released by police pending verification, is expected to recover. He was arrested about 15 minutes after the foiled robbery when he showed up at a San Leandro hospital.

The station owner and a clerk who was also there were not hurt.

The robbery happened about 7:25 a.m. at TQ's 76 station, 5425 Martin Luther King Jr. Way, which police said has been robbed in the past.

Officer Ryan, who is investigating the case with Officer Jesse Grant, said the suspect entered the store area of the station where the owner and clerk were. Their names were not released by police.

The clerk fled out of the store and the owner told the suspect to take whatever he wanted, police said.

When the suspect could not get the cash register opened he began looking for the owner, who by then had gotten a gun and was in the garage area, police said.

When the suspect, who was still holding the gun, came into the garage the owner shot him in the side of the face, Goodfellow said.

Based on a trail of blood found, police believe the suspect made it to a car parked about a block away. He showed up about 15 minutes later at San Leandro Hospital, 13855 East 14th St. Police do not believe he drove himself there and were looking for an accomplice.

The man was arrested and later transferred to Eden Hospital in Castro Valley where he was in serious condition Tuesday.

Goodfellow said the gas station owner was released after questioning. The case will be reviewed by the Alameda County District Attorney's Office, but it is unlikely any charges will be filed against the owner. The shooting was the third in five weeks where a business owner or employee has shot a robber. The suspects in the last two were both killed.

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