Springfield Township, Ohio

From Toledo’s NBC24.com of February 14, 2005

Store Owner Uses Gun to Help Authorities Catch Robbery Suspect

A mini-mart owner took action when a man tried to rob his store on Sunday morning. And now, the robbery suspect is behind bars.

It all happened at Deano's Mini-Mart Too on McCord Road just north of Hill Avenue in Springfield Township. A robbery suspect entered the store at about 8:20 Sunday morning. Store owner Dean El-Joubeily was working in the store's back office. Unbeknownst to Dean, the man in the main store area had approached the female clerk. Dean told NBC 24, "(The suspect) came behind the counter and asked (the clerk) to give up the money or he was going to shoot her. She opened the cash register. She gave him all the money."

When the clerk came back to the office to tell Dean what had happened, Dean grabbed his gun, ran through the store, and confronted the suspect in the parking lot. Dean said, "This is when I drew my gun. And I asked him nicely to get out of his car. I gave him a chance to leave. And he wouldn't. He started to take off. This is when I had to do what I had to do."

Using his handgun, for which he has a concealed carry permit, Dean fired twice into the suspect's front left tire. The suspect sped away in the car. And the tire began to fray. Dean jumped into a car with one of his store customers, trailing the suspect and using his cell phone to call 9-1-1.

Lucas County sheriff's deputies joined the chase. The suspect eventually crashed into a mailbox on King Road and then fled on foot. A short time later, deputies caught 28-year-old Ronniel Lewis hiding in a barn in the woods near King Road. Lewis was arrested and charged with aggravated robbery.

When asked about Dean's actions, Lucas County Deputy Sheriff Jeff Summers stated, "I thought Deano handled the situation extremely well. Nobody got hurt. And the apprehension was made."