Would-be robbers flee from gun-toting owners


Suspects in Vinton County incident still being sought by authorities

THE GAZETTE STAFF • August 18, 2010


ZALESKI -- Authorities are still on the lookout for a pair of would-be robbers who were forced to flee a Vinton County store Saturday after its owners and a customer opened fire on them, Vinton County Sheriff's deputies reported.

At about 4:54 p.m. Saturday, two men wearing camouflage and carrying an assault-style rifle and shotgun entered the Zaleski General Store at the intersection of Ohio 278 and Ohio 677 and demanded money, according to a release from the Vinton County Sheriff's Office.

Store owner Letha Toops retrieved a small handgun from under the counter and fired four shots into the floor in front of the would-be robbers, who then fled. As the pair got into a waiting car, the lone customer in the store took Toops' handgun and fired a shot as the car drove away. Toops' husband, Jerry, also fired at the car, using a gun he had in the waistband of his pants.

The sheriff's office is unsure whether anyone was struck by the gunfire, but all area hospitals were put on notice and units from the sheriff's office and Ohio Highway Patrol searched the area.

Both suspects were described as tall white males, one being as tall as 6-foot-4 and heavy set. The car they fled in was teal green and in good condition, according to the release.

Vinton County Sheriff's Office indicated it has made this case its top priority and is asking anyone with information to call (740) 596-5242.

This is the second time in less than a year that the Zaleski store has been struck by armed robbers. A lone man with a semiautomatic pistol robbed the store in November 2009. He, too, was fired upon as he fled the store.

The latest incident, when the initial story was posted on ChillicotheGazette.com Tuesday, generated a great deal of comments ranging from praise for Toops for doing something to foil the robbery attempt to others who felt she should have aimed to hit the suspects. They also contained a debate about when the firing of a weapon is considered justified under the law.

According to a publication from the Ohio Attorney General's Office explaining Ohio's Concealed Carry Law, "deadly force can be used only to prevent serious bodily harm or death. Deadly force can never be used to protect property only."

In other words, a person must feel a life is in danger in order to claim a gun was used in self-defense.

The state Supreme Court has indicated three conditions must be met to justify a self-defense claim. They are:

 

  • The defendant is not at fault for creating the situation in which force was then considered necessary.

     

  • The person deciding to use force has a real belief that he or she was in immediate danger of death or serious injury and that the force used was the only way to prevent that result.

     

  • The person deciding to use force did not have a "duty to retreat" in the incident, meaning they did not have the opportunity to leave the scene of an incident before force was necessary.

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