Yet Another Armed Robery in Grove City - Merchant Buys Gun Afterwards; NEW: Editorial

[Paradigm]

Ugh. Another armed robbery in the quiet hamlet of Grove City...

http://www.insidebutlercounty.com/in...435-gc-robbery

Grove City Police are investigating a robbery, Wednesday morning, at the Broad Street Market.

Seems that a clerk was getting ready to open the store, shortly after five, when the crook followed her inside and demanded money.

According to the police report, the clerk believed the suspect had a weapon although he didn't show it.

The robber is described as a white man, between 5'4" and 5'7" tall. He was wearing a black jacket and a hooded sweatshirt. The robber covered the lower part of his face with a bandanna.

BUT the merchant is not taking this one sitting down...

Get ready to be furious about the statements from our liberal district attorney (some points make sense, then he puts his foot in his mouth quickly...)

http://www.sharon-herald.com/homepag...l?start:int=15

Mike Mataria said he hates guns, but a second apparent armed robbery at one of his convenience stores “forced” him to buy one.

“I never thought of guns until this moment,” Mataria said Wednesday morning, a few hours after the robbery of his store in Grove City, Broad Street Market.

Mataria said he was prompted to check out a gun store because of the Broad Street Market robbery, three armed robberies last week in Sharon, Hermitage and Farrell, and an attempted armed robbery in Brookfield.

He bought a 9 mm handgun Wednesday at Elite Firearms, Hermitage, and plans to fire it for the first time Friday at the store’s indoor shooting range.

Mataria is a native of Palestine who has owned Sharpsville Food Mart for about seven years, and Broad Street Market for about three. He said this is the “scariest” time he’s had since he went into business.

“It’s going around,” he said.

Mercer County District Attorney Robert G. Kochems said he supports the ownership of guns and believes people should have a gun for self-protection. But, he cautioned against running off and trying to buy one on the spur of the moment, and suggested that anyone considering buying one put a lot of thought into any purchase.

He added that most store robberies occur when the owner is not on the premises.

“This owner going out and buying a gun is not helping his employees one whit,” Kochems said.

Mataria was not in the store at 327 N. Broad St. when it was robbed at 5:03 a.m. Wednesday.

Grove City police said the clerk was opening for business when a man followed her in the front door and demanded cash.

The man had his hand in a jacket pocket and pointed like he had a gun in the pocket, although the female clerk did not see one, Mataria said.

“She couldn’t take a chance,” he said. “She gave him all the money in the cash register.”

The white man was wearing a black jacket and hooded sweatshirt. A bandana covered the lower portion of his face, police said. He stood 5 feet 4 inches to 5 feet 7 inches tall, and ran northbound after leaving the store, police said.

Mataria said he fears he will lose Grove City employees.

“This morning, the girl from Grove City called, crying,” Mataria said.

While the three men who two years ago robbed Mataria’s Sharpsville Food Mart, 707 W. Ridge Ave., were caught within minutes, two female employees resigned because of it, Mataria said.

“It’s hard to find good people to work these days,” he said.

Mataria said he does not have high-quality digital cameras at the Grove City store, and does not believe they captured any images that are usable to police. The Sharpsville store has better cameras, but he said he plans to upgrade the camera systems in both locations.

Kochems said camera upgrades are worthy purchases for small retailers who could be subject to robberies. He also suggested buying good security systems, insurance to cover much of the loss in robberies, and explosive dye packs.

Store owners also need to accept “a certain amount of loss,” he said.

However, panic gun purchases might not be a good idea, he said. Gun owners need to learn how to use their weapons, and spend time with them, he said. An inexperienced gun handler could escalate an incident and cause more problems, he said.

Kochems added that, while those who read the newspaper might perceive that crime is up, figures kept by the DA’s office show that the number of criminal cases that make it to Mercer are down slightly from 2006.

I'm going down to the store and meet the owner and give him a flyer...

[anonymouse]

Store owners also need to accept “a certain amount of loss,” he said.

They need to accept being robbed? WTF

[Paradigm]

Originally Posted by anonymouse

They need to accept being robbed? WTF

That's one of the reasons why I said get ready to be furious. I can imagine a business consultant saying that...but a district attorney??

[Gunfighter04]

I wonder if the DA feels the same about his property. After all he can just buy more.

[mcmcallister]

instead of explosive dye packs, why not explosive rounds....see what criminals think of them....

[fingers80002]

That shit didn't happen, back when I lived in that area.......

[Paradigm]

Originally Posted by fingers80002

That shit didn't happen, back when I lived in that area.......

It didn't happen until about three months ago. Now we've had three!


The owner wasn't in when I dropped by after making the OP. I'll stop in tomorrow morning to see if he's there. I have a fresh flier to give him.

[Paradigm]

Now I see why The Herald (Sharon, PA) made a gun purchase a front-page story...so they can write an editorial!

Prepare yourselves for loads of FAIL. You have been warned.

http://www.sharon-herald.com/opinion...309192306.html

OUR VIEW: Armed response to robbery increases danger to public

'While it may seem that there are more convenience-store robberies occurring recently in the Mercer County area, arming yourself or your employees might not be the best idea.

In fact, it could get someone killed.

A front-page article in The Herald Thursday reported how armed robberies inspired a local merchant to buy a gun.

The story told the tale of Mike Mataria, owner of Broad Street Market, Grove City, which was robbed recently when a clerk was opening the store. The clerk said the robber followed her to the front door and demanded cash, and had his hand in his jacket pocket as if he had a gun.

Reacting to the robbery, Mataria bought a handgun at Elite Firearms in Hermitage and was planning to practice at the store’s firing range.

However, this kind of action is an overreaction. Even if the owner has a gun, what are the chances of him being there when a store is robbed? We would hope he isn’t encouraging his employees to attempt to stave off a potentially armed felon with a weapon.

Most businesses, including banks, are pretty clear on how to handle robberies when there is a chance that weapons may be involved. Turn over the money and let police try to capture the criminal later.

This isn’t the Wild West and shootouts are not a good idea. Even in home robberies, many of the injuries or deaths occur if the home owner goes for a gun.

If a store clerk goes for a weapon while being robbed, the criminal may feel he is forced to shoot. And if the clerk pulls a gun and shoots the robber — who turns out not to be armed — then the court system comes into play. Was the shooting necessary?

And what if an innocent bystander is injured or killed?

Mataria said he is upgrading the camera systems in his stores, including Sharpsville Food Mart, which is probably a much strategy than buying a gun.

District Attorney Robert Kochems points out that good security systems, insurance to cover robbery losses and explosive dye packs are also better ideas.

We agree completely with Kochems who said panic gun purchases are not a good idea. In fact, they are a bad idea.

No amount of money is worth people losing their lives.

[dc dalton]

Originally Posted by anonymouse

They need to accept being robbed? WTF

My thoughts exactly and this coming from an official, how much more sheepish can we become.

So I guess it's now just supposed to be part of life huh?


amazing

[Helter]

I agree with everything the DA said.

Yeah, if the robberies are happening when the owner isn't in the store, then the owner having a gun isn't going to help the employees. That's not rocket science guys.
And yeah, people who have guns for self defense need to get training. We tell people that all the time.

and yes, there is a certain amount of loss that is going to be involved with any type of business. Whether that is for nonpayment, breakage, theft... That's just something that has to be accepted. You can minimize it, but you'll never be able to completely eliminate it. Buying a gun that you hate and won't practice with, to prevent a robbery that happens when you're not around, really isn't a rational action to limit that.