Armed Robbery Suspect Loses to Bread Deliveryman in 'Short Gun Battle'
It has been rightly said that armed civilians within the population can help prevent and reduce crime by effectively countering and responding to threats posed by armed criminals, and an incident over the weekend in Georgia only serves to reinforce that notion.
Fox News reported that a bread deliveryman used his firearm to stop a robbery in progress at a fast-food restaurant to which he was making a delivery.
His brave actions to halt the robbery quite possibly prevented any harm from occurring to any of the workers, and the deliveryman was rewarded by being named as an honorary deputy.
According to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Clayton County deputies were called to respond to a robbery in progress at about 6:30 a.m. Saturday at the Hardee’s restaurant in Ellenwood, Georgia.
A suspect, identified as Damario Kentrell Parrish, was in the process of robbing the restaurant when bread deliveryman Joseph Chilton arrived, the sheriff’s office said.
Seeing employees running out the back door and hearing a woman screaming, Chilton went back to his truck to get his gun and entered the store. He confronted the armed robber and a “short gun battle ensued,” according to the sheriff’s office.
The suspect was shot twice — thankfully, nobody else was injured — and swiftly escaped from the store, only to be later tracked down and arrested at his home.
The Journal-Constitution reported that Parrish was transported to a hospital to receive treatment for his gunshot wounds. As of Monday morning, he had yet to be booked into the Clayton County jail, but he is facing charges of armed robbery and aggravated assault and battery.
UPDATE: The bread delivery driver who foiled an armed robbery at a Hardee’s this morning has been made an honorary deputy by Clayton County Sheriff Hill. The robber who was shot is in the hospital and is identified as Parrish Damario Kentrell. pic.twitter.com/hHZdk0EanL
— FOX 5 Atlanta (@FOX5Atlanta) November 30, 2019
WAGA-TV reported that Parrish had jumped the counter of the Hardee’s and demanded cash from employees at gunpoint at the start of the incident.
Following the exchange of gunfire with Chilton and his escape, deputies found the suspect at his home Saturday afternoon.
There was initially a standoff, but Parrish ultimately surrendered and was taken into custody.
According to a news release from the Clayton County Sheriff’s Office, Sheriff Victor Hill was impressed by Chilton’s bravery and how his actions had exemplified the department’s motto of “defending those who could not defend themselves.”
As a reward for his heroism, Chilton was named an honorary deputy and promptly inducted into “The Sheriff’s Posse Hall of Fame.”
This incident just goes to show how important and effective armed civilians can be in countering criminals, and buttresses the notion that armed civilians can act efficiently as immediate first responders within seconds while the law enforcement officers are still minutes away.
And it’s another example of a good guy with a gun stopping a bad guy with a gun from doing harm.
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