Man thwarts robbery suspect with gas pump nozzle, helps police track him down
MILWAUKEE WITI - A would-be victim scared off a robber, then helped police catch him. The crook was armed with a gun, and the victim armed himself with a gas nozzle.
It was a snowy morning at the Marathon gas station near south 13th Street and Morgan Avenue, but surveillance video that was captured was clear as day.
"I was like really nervous and a little bit shocking in this neighborhood, in this gas station," said a gas station clerk.
The clerk -- who wished to remain anonymous -- was stunned by what happened at the pumps while she was busy working inside the convenience store.
"Cops came and he was telling me and this thing happened on pump number 6," said the clerk.
The crime began just before 9 a.m. when the suspect in a red vehicle pulled in. He sat at the pump for a while then exited and started walking toward the convenience store - but suddenly, he turned toward a man who had just begun pumping gas.
The two exchanged words of some sort. The suspect is seen walking away, but then doubles back.
Police say the suspect approached the 53-year-old Glendale man with a gun and demanded his keys.
The suspect was brazen, but the victim was just as bold.
Cornered between the suspect and the vehicle, the victim grabbed the gas nozzle from his car, turned toward the suspect and pointed it at him.
Scared to be sprayed with gas, police say the suspect got back into his vehicle attempting to get away.
He left empty handed, but the victim was able to get something else of his -- the license plate and make and model of the suspect's vehicle.
A few minutes later police stopped the 30-year-old suspect near S. 27th Street. He was arrested, and a gun and marijuana were found in the car.
Customers praised the victim's actions.
"I think he was very alert, I think it took a lot of guts to do that, a lot of foresight, and the guy has a really good head on his shoulders I'd have to say," said Jim Gramza, who supports the victim's actions.
Milwaukee police believe the suspect also stole the car he was stopped in.
The District Attorney will be reviewing the case.
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