Queens shop owner fights robber off with machete
BY DANIEL MASSEY | Special to Newsday; Staff writers Rocco Parascandola and Bill Mason contributed to this story.
November 8, 2007
A machete-wielding bodega owner counterattacked a would-be robber in Queens yesterday, avoiding his gunfire and leaving him in serious condition with several slash wounds, police said.
Police said Omar Rodriguez, 28, entered the Erick Grocery store on 77th Street in Woodhaven, went behind the counter, pulled out a .40-caliber semi-automatic handgun and demanded cash.
John Marte, 50, who bought the store about a year ago, according to residents, was behind the counter. He had a machete there that he uses to cut mangos and grabbed it, police said.
The gunman fired two shots, but both missed the shop owner, who struck more accurately with his machete, police said. The gunman was cut in the head near the ear, on the left arm and on the right hand, where one of his fingers was severed, police said.
Shamir Martinez, 18, who lives across the street, heard the owner screaming and looked into the store from his apartment window.
"I saw the guy. You could see it clear," Martinez said. "The guy was backing up. ... The owner was trying to protect himself."
Marte held the gunman there and called police.
The store has been robbed numerous times before, but this was the first time anyone tried to rob Marte, police sources said.
Nicky Gonzalez, 33, who lives nearby and knows the store owner, said he did the right thing.
"Sometimes you have to defend yourself. It's your life or theirs. Why should you give up everything?" she said.
Rodriguez was taken to Jamaica Hospital Medical Center where police said he was listed in serious but stable condition. Charges were pending against him, but the store owner was not charged, as police said they believe he acted in self-defense. A gun was recovered at the scene.
Everisto Amarante, 50, Marte's brother, said they moved here from the Dominican Republic 24 years ago. Today, "he was a lucky man and a brave man," Amarante said.
BY DANIEL MASSEY | Special to Newsday; Staff writers Rocco Parascandola and Bill Mason contributed to this story.
November 8, 2007
A machete-wielding bodega owner counterattacked a would-be robber in Queens yesterday, avoiding his gunfire and leaving him in serious condition with several slash wounds, police said.
Police said Omar Rodriguez, 28, entered the Erick Grocery store on 77th Street in Woodhaven, went behind the counter, pulled out a .40-caliber semi-automatic handgun and demanded cash.
John Marte, 50, who bought the store about a year ago, according to residents, was behind the counter. He had a machete there that he uses to cut mangos and grabbed it, police said.
The gunman fired two shots, but both missed the shop owner, who struck more accurately with his machete, police said. The gunman was cut in the head near the ear, on the left arm and on the right hand, where one of his fingers was severed, police said.
Shamir Martinez, 18, who lives across the street, heard the owner screaming and looked into the store from his apartment window.
"I saw the guy. You could see it clear," Martinez said. "The guy was backing up. ... The owner was trying to protect himself."
Marte held the gunman there and called police.
The store has been robbed numerous times before, but this was the first time anyone tried to rob Marte, police sources said.
Nicky Gonzalez, 33, who lives nearby and knows the store owner, said he did the right thing.
"Sometimes you have to defend yourself. It's your life or theirs. Why should you give up everything?" she said.
Rodriguez was taken to Jamaica Hospital Medical Center where police said he was listed in serious but stable condition. Charges were pending against him, but the store owner was not charged, as police said they believe he acted in self-defense. A gun was recovered at the scene.
Everisto Amarante, 50, Marte's brother, said they moved here from the Dominican Republic 24 years ago. Today, "he was a lucky man and a brave man," Amarante said.
