Drizzt
January 21, 2003, 06:41 PM
Kingsport Pharmacist Fights Back With a Bullet
A Kingsport business owner fights back, shooting a man who he says was attempting to rob him at knife point.
by Erica Estep
Newschannel 11
Jan 20, 2003
A Kingsport business owner fights back, shooting a man who he says was attempting to rob him at knife point.
The suspect is behind bars tonight. Police say he went looking for prescription painkillers and got more than he bargained for.
Carl Marcum keeps a 38 calibur handgun under the counter of his pharmacy. He says Sunday was the first time he's had to use it in more than 42 years.
"He had the knives by the blades, holding the handles up in the air", says Marcum.
33 year old Jeffery Lynn Jessee is charged with aggravated robbery after police say he entered Marcums Pharmacy waving 2 kitchen knives and demanding pain killers.
The Pharmacist says he warned the suspect, who just kept making his way through the back of the store. Marcum says he ran through the pharmacy with gun in hand. Once he and the robber came into each other's sight, he says he yelled stop then fired the gun when he did not. The robber then fled out the back door.
Police found Jesse at a Rogersville hospital with a gun shot wound to the right hand. Newschannel 11 asked residents if Marcum did the right thing.
Micheal Hackney says, "I think everyone has the right to protect their self."
"I think it's a good idea. We need to protect ourselves from the robbers. We can't just let them take over the country", adds Mary Evans.
However, Rosalee Harrington doesn't see it that way. She says a businees is no place for guns. "I could go in there, reaching for my credit card. He might think I'm reaching for a gun and I could be dead. I don't like that idea", says Harrington.
Like it or not, police say it's perfectly legal. When asked if he'd do the same in Marcum's shoes, Lt. Ralph Cline says, "Personally, I would have."
Marcum says he's had calls of support and hopes robbers will think twice before holding someone else up, but he adds, "I would not want my other pharmacists and employees to do what I did because they would be taking too big a risk."
There were no customers in the pharmacy at the time of the shooting and no employees were injured.
Police say while business owners have a right to defend themselves, you must have a license to carry a weapon. They say you should be trained to properly to use it and never fire a weapon if there is a chance of a bystander being injured.
http://www.wjhl.com/home/MGBCD4E17BD.html
A Kingsport business owner fights back, shooting a man who he says was attempting to rob him at knife point.
by Erica Estep
Newschannel 11
Jan 20, 2003
A Kingsport business owner fights back, shooting a man who he says was attempting to rob him at knife point.
The suspect is behind bars tonight. Police say he went looking for prescription painkillers and got more than he bargained for.
Carl Marcum keeps a 38 calibur handgun under the counter of his pharmacy. He says Sunday was the first time he's had to use it in more than 42 years.
"He had the knives by the blades, holding the handles up in the air", says Marcum.
33 year old Jeffery Lynn Jessee is charged with aggravated robbery after police say he entered Marcums Pharmacy waving 2 kitchen knives and demanding pain killers.
The Pharmacist says he warned the suspect, who just kept making his way through the back of the store. Marcum says he ran through the pharmacy with gun in hand. Once he and the robber came into each other's sight, he says he yelled stop then fired the gun when he did not. The robber then fled out the back door.
Police found Jesse at a Rogersville hospital with a gun shot wound to the right hand. Newschannel 11 asked residents if Marcum did the right thing.
Micheal Hackney says, "I think everyone has the right to protect their self."
"I think it's a good idea. We need to protect ourselves from the robbers. We can't just let them take over the country", adds Mary Evans.
However, Rosalee Harrington doesn't see it that way. She says a businees is no place for guns. "I could go in there, reaching for my credit card. He might think I'm reaching for a gun and I could be dead. I don't like that idea", says Harrington.
Like it or not, police say it's perfectly legal. When asked if he'd do the same in Marcum's shoes, Lt. Ralph Cline says, "Personally, I would have."
Marcum says he's had calls of support and hopes robbers will think twice before holding someone else up, but he adds, "I would not want my other pharmacists and employees to do what I did because they would be taking too big a risk."
There were no customers in the pharmacy at the time of the shooting and no employees were injured.
Police say while business owners have a right to defend themselves, you must have a license to carry a weapon. They say you should be trained to properly to use it and never fire a weapon if there is a chance of a bystander being injured.
http://www.wjhl.com/home/MGBCD4E17BD.html