VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. – A man who robbed a convenience store while brandishing a plastic kite handle that he covered with a rag to make it look like a concealed gun was tackled to the ground by bystanders who witnessed the incident, according to the Volusia County Sheriff's Office.
Deputies said Anthony Robertson, 54, went to Jiffy Food Store in Ormond Beach Sunday night wearing a mask and latex gloves and pointed the object in his hand at a clerk and said, "The money, give me the money."
The clerk gave $816 to Robertson. As he tried to run away from the store, two men who saw what happened tackled him to the ground, hit him in the head and held him until authorities arrived, according to a news release.
Nicholas Schara, a longtime customer who helped stop the suspect, said he looked at 15-year-old Daniel Dragan, an employee at the store, and asked if he was willing to help stop the man. Dragan agreed and the two did what they could to stop Robertson.
"I lunged him and grabbed him from behind and had him in kind of a rear-naked chokehold but had his arms in the back," Schara said.
Both bystanders said they were glad they could help when help was needed.
"It was just the right thing to do," Dragan said. "Why would I just let him walk away?"
Robertson was taken to an area hospital to be treated for head injuries.
Deputies said Robertson told him that the object that appeared to be a weapon was actually a plastic kite string handle covered by a rag.
Robertson was arrested on charges of robbery with a deadly weapon, assault with intent to commit a felony, false imprisonment and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon without intent to kill.