2dogs
September 9, 2003, 08:21 AM
Give the old guy credit- he may not be smart, but he's brave.
http://www.pantagraph.com/stories/090603/new_20030906036.shtml
Man, 71, thwarts robbery
Police: Don't try this at home
By Sharon K. Wolfe
Pantagraph staff
BLOOMINGTON -- When 71-year-old Donald Sacry was sipping his coffee at McDonald's on Friday, he noticed a man coming in who apparently wanted more than breakfast.
"A guy came in with his hat pulled down real low and a mask up over his mouth and nose," said Sacry, describing what happened about 6:20 a.m. Friday at the restaurant on East Oakland Avenue in Bloomington.
"As I watched him come in, he pulled out a gun," said Sacry, of Bloomington.
The gunman told an employee to give him money, a police report said.
"The guy behind the counter -- just like he should do -- was going to get the money so none of the kids got hurt," said Sacry.
"I have to say it hit me -- kerbang -- to take him," Sacry said.
Police warn people not to try what Sacry was about to do, but that wasn't on his mind at that moment.
If he had known the guy might already have stolen a car at gunpoint a few blocks away, he may have had second thoughts.
In any case, he rose from his seat and approached the gunman.
"He put the gun in my face," Sacry said.
Sacry said he had no fear, but did wonder what caliber the gun was.
"Maybe because he was so close it looked so big," he said.
A Bloomington police report noted Sacry made several comments to the robber during the confrontation, but did not go into detail.
"I used a lot of vulgarity," Sacry said. "I cussed him out pretty good. I was hollering at him."
As the gunman watched a cashier about to open a cash register, Sacry struck.
"I grabbed some trays, about three, and hit him with them," he continued. The gunman had turned around, so Sacry ended up hitting him in the upper back.
Sacry said the man said nothing and seemed to be surprised that an older man was hitting him with plastic trays.
"He was fooling around with a bad biker," said Sacry, who owns Harleys and still rides.
The force of the blow from Sacry -- who swims mornings five days a week at the YMCA before his coffee -- sent the would-be robber nearly to the floor.
When the man scrambled to his feet, he bolted out the employee entrance at the back.
He left empty-handed, police said.
Sacry and two of his friends sitting at another table ran outside to see the getaway car so they could describe it to police.
Later, police gave Sacry a ride down the block to identify a man thought to be the gunman. Police had stopped the man where the getaway car crashed.
It turns out the car had been stolen at gunpoint from a woman at an apartment complex on Willedrob Road, a few blocks west of the restaurant, Bloomington police said. That happened shortly before the gunman went to McDonalds.
A 20-year-old Bloomington man suspected of being the gunman was in McLean County jail Friday night. No charges had been filed.
Sacry said he he was glad he could help McDonalds because gets more than coffee there.
"They're (the employees) very good to me, and they put up with me. I always joke around a lot," he said.
http://www.pantagraph.com/stories/090603/new_20030906036.shtml
Man, 71, thwarts robbery
Police: Don't try this at home
By Sharon K. Wolfe
Pantagraph staff
BLOOMINGTON -- When 71-year-old Donald Sacry was sipping his coffee at McDonald's on Friday, he noticed a man coming in who apparently wanted more than breakfast.
"A guy came in with his hat pulled down real low and a mask up over his mouth and nose," said Sacry, describing what happened about 6:20 a.m. Friday at the restaurant on East Oakland Avenue in Bloomington.
"As I watched him come in, he pulled out a gun," said Sacry, of Bloomington.
The gunman told an employee to give him money, a police report said.
"The guy behind the counter -- just like he should do -- was going to get the money so none of the kids got hurt," said Sacry.
"I have to say it hit me -- kerbang -- to take him," Sacry said.
Police warn people not to try what Sacry was about to do, but that wasn't on his mind at that moment.
If he had known the guy might already have stolen a car at gunpoint a few blocks away, he may have had second thoughts.
In any case, he rose from his seat and approached the gunman.
"He put the gun in my face," Sacry said.
Sacry said he had no fear, but did wonder what caliber the gun was.
"Maybe because he was so close it looked so big," he said.
A Bloomington police report noted Sacry made several comments to the robber during the confrontation, but did not go into detail.
"I used a lot of vulgarity," Sacry said. "I cussed him out pretty good. I was hollering at him."
As the gunman watched a cashier about to open a cash register, Sacry struck.
"I grabbed some trays, about three, and hit him with them," he continued. The gunman had turned around, so Sacry ended up hitting him in the upper back.
Sacry said the man said nothing and seemed to be surprised that an older man was hitting him with plastic trays.
"He was fooling around with a bad biker," said Sacry, who owns Harleys and still rides.
The force of the blow from Sacry -- who swims mornings five days a week at the YMCA before his coffee -- sent the would-be robber nearly to the floor.
When the man scrambled to his feet, he bolted out the employee entrance at the back.
He left empty-handed, police said.
Sacry and two of his friends sitting at another table ran outside to see the getaway car so they could describe it to police.
Later, police gave Sacry a ride down the block to identify a man thought to be the gunman. Police had stopped the man where the getaway car crashed.
It turns out the car had been stolen at gunpoint from a woman at an apartment complex on Willedrob Road, a few blocks west of the restaurant, Bloomington police said. That happened shortly before the gunman went to McDonalds.
A 20-year-old Bloomington man suspected of being the gunman was in McLean County jail Friday night. No charges had been filed.
Sacry said he he was glad he could help McDonalds because gets more than coffee there.
"They're (the employees) very good to me, and they put up with me. I always joke around a lot," he said.