44-Year-Old Airline Mechanic Foils Tulsa Armed Robbery
Oklahoma, The Right Stuff, Crime
In Tulsa, an ordinary citizen recently demonstrated that it doesn’t take a SWAT team, machine guns, and paramilitary gear to subdue an armed robber, just guts.
WND:
(Craig) Stutzman, 44, an American Airlines mechanic, had stopped at the Food Pyramid store to buy some dog food before leaving town for a family reunion, according to a Tulsa World report. While he was shopping, a man entered the store wearing a Batman mask over the upper portion of his face and a red bandanna over the lower.The robber, Tony Leroy Cleveland, waved a loaded gun at customers and store employees, herding them to the front of the store.
According to Tulsa police reports, when a customer ducked behind a counter, Cleveland fired the gun, missing the customer’s head by mere inches.
The gun then jammed, and that’s when Stutzman seized his opportunity. ...
While other customers watched in fear, Stutzman endured pistol whips from the gunman, suffering a badly bruised jaw, scrapes and other injuries. As the battle moved through the entryway and into the parking lot, other customers eventually came to his aid, just seconds before squad cars arrived to apprehend the robber.
Stutzman told Tulsa World, “You know, it just happened. There’s no big thing about it.” ...
According to jail records, Cleveland – who had served 10 years for a previous armed robbery conviction – has been arrested on complaints of shooting with intent to kill, assault with a deadly weapon, robbery with a firearm, wearing a mask in the commission of a felony and possessing a firearm after a felony conviction.
Cleveland is currently in the Tulsa Jail with bail set at $310,000.
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