We've hashed out similar situations before. Here's another incident of a citizen taking action. Everything worked out well, this time.
Jeff
http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/ne...B799F786256EDE0070AA8D?OpenDocument&Headline=
"Batman" foils robbery at Great Clips store
Ryan Heinz
Of the Suburban Journals
updated: 07/27/2004 04:10 PM
Damien Jaggie has long been a patron of the Great Clips haircut chain. For the better part of a decade he had been going to the same Great Clips store in St. Louis and it appeared unlikely he would ever go anywhere else.
"I'm real picky about who I let cut my hair," said Jaggie, 22.
But the south St. Louis-native — who calls Maplewood his second home — decided to shake things up on July 2 when he deemed his hair in need of a cut. He was at his friend's cleaners business, which is adjacent to a Great Clips store in Maplewood's Deer Creek Center.
Through frequent visits to the cleaners Jaggie, who owns a small-repairs business, managed to befriend some of the Great Clips workers during smoke breaks behind the two stores. Apparently a trust was developed, as on that day the "picky" Jaggie let them cut his hair. It had been a long time since he strayed from his usual barber and it would be a decision he would not soon forget.
What Jaggie didn't know was prior to him taking his seat at Great Clips, a strange, scraggly looking man had already been in twice. He had spoken to stylist Tiffany Bonds-Jones each time — the first to inquire about prices and the second to enter his real name, Gary Moore, into the computer — and he did so in a whisper as he leaned across the front counter.
As Jaggie and another customer were getting their hair cut by Lisa Dorsey and Tina O'Brien, respectively, the man returned to the store. Again, Bonds-Jones waited on him and again the man leaned in as if to whisper something.
"I'm just all excited and stuff thinking he came back for a haircut," said an unsuspecting Bonds-Jones, 23.
However, the man had other intentions. This time he took out a knife and put it to her throat. In doing so, he demanded all of the money out of the register while ordering the other four into the back of the store. That's when Jaggie sprung into action.
As Bonds-Jones struggled to get the register open — she had only worked there a short time — Jaggie exited through the back door of Great Clips. He then ran in through the back door of the adjacent cleaners and told his friend to call the cops because of the robbery occurring next door. But Jaggie couldn't sit still and wait for the cops while he knew a girl next door had a knife held to her throat. Instead, he ran out the front door of the cleaners with the intentions of coming in through the front of Great Clips and thwarting the robbery — all while still wearing the black smock from his haircut.
The robber, on the other hand, saw Jaggie exit through the back. Already flustered from not being able to get the register open, the man panicked and fled through the front door. Jaggie realized this when he came out the front of the cleaners. Without missing a beat, he took off in pursuit, which led to what surely must have been a comical site for onlookers.
"He had one of those black capes on around him (from) getting his haircut. Well, he didn't take it off, and he ran through the cleaners and the witnesses said it looked like Batman running across the (Deer Creek Center parking lot) because he had this cape around his neck," said Maplewood police Detective Sgt. Michael Martin. "So, as he's chasing this guy across the parking lot, which is about a football field and a half in length, he looked like the caped crusader."
Jaggie chased the man into the woods near Deer Creek, where he began running along a fence. At that point, Jaggie went back up the hill to his truck, drove it to a point where he could cut off the robber and Jaggie again confronted him. Following a brief struggle, Jaggie was able to get the knife from the man and subdue him until police came less than a minute later.
"People ask me about it, and I'm not that excited about what I did," Jaggie said a few weeks later. He then nonchalantly added, "This is like the third time I've chased somebody down who's committed a crime."
He does, however, get excited when recounting the hilarious foot chase. At one point, Jaggie said, he had to throw off his trusty "cape" as it was getting in the way while trying to obtain the knife from the man. But even then he still had on the white collar that goes on under the smock, which he was wearing when he came up from the creek.
"So I went in a superhero and came out a priest," he said laughing. "I would have loved to have a camera shooting me through that. It would have been the greatest because I'm chasing after this guy with a Great Clips smock flapping in the wind behind me."
Moore, 47, of St. Louis, is being held on $50,000 bond at the St. Louis County Jail on charges of first-degree attempted robbery, armed criminal action and unlawful use of a weapon.
Meanwhile, Jaggie is basking in the rewards of being a hero. Not only have the Great Clips ladies showered him with gifts — including free haircuts for life from the store — but the City of Maplewood is also honoring him.
"I'm thinking about quitting the business, getting a cape and some tights and becoming a superhero," he said jokingly. "It pays."
Police recommend not confronting criminals
Although Maplewood police are not necessarily complaining that Damien Jaggie aided in apprehending a would-be robber, they don't advise people to try to be a hero in similar situations.
"I guess if it would always work out that way, it would be great," said Maplewood Detective Sgt. Michael Martin. "But unfortunately, it doesn't."
He added that police always advise people not to confront a criminal, especially without a badge or an effective weapon for defense.
"I mean, the guy could have stabbed (Jaggie), the guy could have pulled out a gun and shot him," Martin said. "There's a lot of things that could have went wrong. It's come to things like this when people don't think straight and they chase people down. It helps the police department, but we could be burying (Jaggie)."
Instead of confronting a criminal, police advise people to be a good witness. This includes getting a good description of the criminal and his or her getaway vehicle, if any.
While Jaggie came out unscathed from his confrontation, Martin said it didn't really need to happen in the first place, considering police arrived on the scene within a minute of the would-be robber being apprehended. He added that if a good description of the man and his direction of travel were given to a dispatcher, then police would have caught him in the creek anyway.
"That's the one thing the detective said — you don't really set the best example chasing guys with knives," Jaggie said. "But honestly, if he would have been tough, I might have had a problem with him. But anybody who's going to go into Great Clips and try to rob it with a bunch of women (working there) is just a punk."
When asked if he had any advice for someone coming face to face with a criminal, Jaggie said, "I agree with the detectives. Don't chase guys with knives."
You can contact Ryan Heinz at [email protected].
Jeff
http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/ne...B799F786256EDE0070AA8D?OpenDocument&Headline=
"Batman" foils robbery at Great Clips store
Ryan Heinz
Of the Suburban Journals
updated: 07/27/2004 04:10 PM
Damien Jaggie has long been a patron of the Great Clips haircut chain. For the better part of a decade he had been going to the same Great Clips store in St. Louis and it appeared unlikely he would ever go anywhere else.
"I'm real picky about who I let cut my hair," said Jaggie, 22.
But the south St. Louis-native — who calls Maplewood his second home — decided to shake things up on July 2 when he deemed his hair in need of a cut. He was at his friend's cleaners business, which is adjacent to a Great Clips store in Maplewood's Deer Creek Center.
Through frequent visits to the cleaners Jaggie, who owns a small-repairs business, managed to befriend some of the Great Clips workers during smoke breaks behind the two stores. Apparently a trust was developed, as on that day the "picky" Jaggie let them cut his hair. It had been a long time since he strayed from his usual barber and it would be a decision he would not soon forget.
What Jaggie didn't know was prior to him taking his seat at Great Clips, a strange, scraggly looking man had already been in twice. He had spoken to stylist Tiffany Bonds-Jones each time — the first to inquire about prices and the second to enter his real name, Gary Moore, into the computer — and he did so in a whisper as he leaned across the front counter.
As Jaggie and another customer were getting their hair cut by Lisa Dorsey and Tina O'Brien, respectively, the man returned to the store. Again, Bonds-Jones waited on him and again the man leaned in as if to whisper something.
"I'm just all excited and stuff thinking he came back for a haircut," said an unsuspecting Bonds-Jones, 23.
However, the man had other intentions. This time he took out a knife and put it to her throat. In doing so, he demanded all of the money out of the register while ordering the other four into the back of the store. That's when Jaggie sprung into action.
As Bonds-Jones struggled to get the register open — she had only worked there a short time — Jaggie exited through the back door of Great Clips. He then ran in through the back door of the adjacent cleaners and told his friend to call the cops because of the robbery occurring next door. But Jaggie couldn't sit still and wait for the cops while he knew a girl next door had a knife held to her throat. Instead, he ran out the front door of the cleaners with the intentions of coming in through the front of Great Clips and thwarting the robbery — all while still wearing the black smock from his haircut.
The robber, on the other hand, saw Jaggie exit through the back. Already flustered from not being able to get the register open, the man panicked and fled through the front door. Jaggie realized this when he came out the front of the cleaners. Without missing a beat, he took off in pursuit, which led to what surely must have been a comical site for onlookers.
"He had one of those black capes on around him (from) getting his haircut. Well, he didn't take it off, and he ran through the cleaners and the witnesses said it looked like Batman running across the (Deer Creek Center parking lot) because he had this cape around his neck," said Maplewood police Detective Sgt. Michael Martin. "So, as he's chasing this guy across the parking lot, which is about a football field and a half in length, he looked like the caped crusader."
Jaggie chased the man into the woods near Deer Creek, where he began running along a fence. At that point, Jaggie went back up the hill to his truck, drove it to a point where he could cut off the robber and Jaggie again confronted him. Following a brief struggle, Jaggie was able to get the knife from the man and subdue him until police came less than a minute later.
"People ask me about it, and I'm not that excited about what I did," Jaggie said a few weeks later. He then nonchalantly added, "This is like the third time I've chased somebody down who's committed a crime."
He does, however, get excited when recounting the hilarious foot chase. At one point, Jaggie said, he had to throw off his trusty "cape" as it was getting in the way while trying to obtain the knife from the man. But even then he still had on the white collar that goes on under the smock, which he was wearing when he came up from the creek.
"So I went in a superhero and came out a priest," he said laughing. "I would have loved to have a camera shooting me through that. It would have been the greatest because I'm chasing after this guy with a Great Clips smock flapping in the wind behind me."
Moore, 47, of St. Louis, is being held on $50,000 bond at the St. Louis County Jail on charges of first-degree attempted robbery, armed criminal action and unlawful use of a weapon.
Meanwhile, Jaggie is basking in the rewards of being a hero. Not only have the Great Clips ladies showered him with gifts — including free haircuts for life from the store — but the City of Maplewood is also honoring him.
"I'm thinking about quitting the business, getting a cape and some tights and becoming a superhero," he said jokingly. "It pays."
Police recommend not confronting criminals
Although Maplewood police are not necessarily complaining that Damien Jaggie aided in apprehending a would-be robber, they don't advise people to try to be a hero in similar situations.
"I guess if it would always work out that way, it would be great," said Maplewood Detective Sgt. Michael Martin. "But unfortunately, it doesn't."
He added that police always advise people not to confront a criminal, especially without a badge or an effective weapon for defense.
"I mean, the guy could have stabbed (Jaggie), the guy could have pulled out a gun and shot him," Martin said. "There's a lot of things that could have went wrong. It's come to things like this when people don't think straight and they chase people down. It helps the police department, but we could be burying (Jaggie)."
Instead of confronting a criminal, police advise people to be a good witness. This includes getting a good description of the criminal and his or her getaway vehicle, if any.
While Jaggie came out unscathed from his confrontation, Martin said it didn't really need to happen in the first place, considering police arrived on the scene within a minute of the would-be robber being apprehended. He added that if a good description of the man and his direction of travel were given to a dispatcher, then police would have caught him in the creek anyway.
"That's the one thing the detective said — you don't really set the best example chasing guys with knives," Jaggie said. "But honestly, if he would have been tough, I might have had a problem with him. But anybody who's going to go into Great Clips and try to rob it with a bunch of women (working there) is just a punk."
When asked if he had any advice for someone coming face to face with a criminal, Jaggie said, "I agree with the detectives. Don't chase guys with knives."
You can contact Ryan Heinz at [email protected].
NO WAY!!!
