San Antonio, Texas

From the MySanAntonio.com of September 10, 2006

Man with AK-47 helps thwart robbery

When Arthur Winters saw two armed robbers terrorizing his neighborhood, he did the only thing he could think of: He asked his wife to bring him his AK-47.

"I had to get it to protect my family and the neighbors and all that," Winters said.

It was part of a series of events, including a fistfight, rock-throwing and haphazard gunshots, that hammered the plans of two robbery suspects Saturday afternoon, leaving one shot and the other stuck in the mud.

Both men faced aggravated robbery charges.

A police report told the tale:

The suspects pulled up in a Ford F-150 and approached Cesar Arellano, busy installing a roof on a home under construction near Barton Court and Hughes Avenue.

Formalities were brief. One of the suspects suddenly put Arellano in a chokehold, and the other pulled out a gun. They demanded money and his rings.

Arellano grabbed the gun. The struggle began.

Arellano's brother, also on site, saw the robbery. He charged and punched one of the intruders.

Amid the mayhem, the handgun went off, and a stray bullet struck one of the suspects.

The brothers managed to break free and run to Winters' house for help.

The wounded suspect bolted for Arellano's vehicle. The other ran for his own pickup.

Neither got too far.

Police later traced the wounded suspect to a location a little more than 2 miles away. He was taken to Wilford Hall Medical Center.

The other suspect's getaway pickup had become stuck in a ditch and then between a curb and a log.

Then it got worse for him. Arellano and his brother started to hurl rocks at the pickup and broke a window. The suspect bailed out, briefly pointed a gun at the brothers and then ran through an open field.

Enter Winters.

He followed through the field, toting the military weapon at his side. When he fired a few rounds at the ground and the suspect kept going, Winters fired some more.

"Then he stopped, completely stopped," Winters said. "I ran up to him, and he just told me not to kill him."

Winters, along with Arellano and his brother, held the suspect until police arrived. The neighborhood was again safe.

"It was a robbery that just went wrong," Winters said.