When a robber pointed a .45 at a store clerk’s head, he likely thought he had the upper hand. Instead, he quickly ran into a few big problems — three to be exact.
When Shawn Sutton and his wife Melody Sutton, both 39, arrived at the Ideal Mart on Old Northcutt Road in Gilmer County, Georgia, Shawn headed inside, planning to rob the place while Melody waited in the car. Unfortunately for the north Georgia couple, things wouldn’t go according to plan. Instead, Shawn would soon find himself facing three big problems when some gun-toting customers leaped into action.
According to a press release from the Ellijay Police Department, it was just before 6:30 pm on a Monday when Shawn and Melody Sutton arrived at the Ideal Mart. Posing as a customer who was there to buy an energy drink, Shawn entered the convenience store while his wife Melody waited in their car. When Shawn reached the convenience store counter, his real intentions became clear.
Police said Shawn Sutton pulled a pair of women’s panties that were around his neck up over his face to hide his identity. With his face covered, he went behind the counter, pointed a .45 at the store clerk’s head, and demanded money, but as The Blaze reported, he ran into big problems when three gun-toting customers came to the clerk’s rescue, pulling their own guns.
Indeed, Shawn Sutton had “hit the good-guy-with-a-gun jackpot on this particular evening.” As hard as it might be to believe, there were “three legitimate customers at the store at the time — two inside the building and one pumping gas — and they all had guns, too, and were willing to pull them to make the situation right,” the news outlet explained.
One customer “legally carrying” a concealed gun “intervened in the robbery” while a second customer ran to his car, got his gun, and reentered the store to “assist the first customer in subduing the suspect,” police explained. Then, as the suspect was trying to leave the store, the third customer, who was at the gas pumps initially, came inside the store with his gun “to assist” as well, police said. The first customer reportedly instructed the other two gun-toting patrons not to shoot since Shawn Sutton had been disarmed.
A call for a burglary in progress was placed to 911, and officers from the Ellijay Police Department, East Ellijay Police Department, and deputies of the Gilmer Sheriff’s Office arrived at the scene to find Shawn Sutton trying to leave. An officer told Shawn Sutton to get on the floor, but he refused to do as instructed, forcing the officer to use a Taser on him. “Through a coordinated effort,” officers were eventually able to take Shawn Sutton into custody, police said.
Other officers were also able to take his wife, who was still in the couple’s car, into custody as well without further incident. Shawn Sutton was charged with armed robbery, aggravated assault, and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, WSB-TV reported. Meanwhile, Melody Sutton was charged with armed robbery, intimidation, and taking control of a substance. Both were ordered held without bond at the Gilmer County Adult Detention Center. As for the three gun-toting customers, all had legal permits for their weapons, police said.
Once again, we have another “good guy with a gun” story, and the end result was the same — armed, law-abiding citizens put the kibosh on criminal behavior. Innocent people were kept free from harm, and those intending harm were thrown behind bars where they belong. I don’t know about you, but I love a story with a happy ending — and that’s what you tend to get when a legal gun owner is able to protect their loved ones when danger rears its ugly head.
