Former Marine, 72, Teaches Pickpocket a Lesson
Former Marine, 72, Teaches Pickpocket a Lesson
Wednesday, June 27, 2007
AP
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. -
Bill Barnes says he was scratching off a losing $2 lottery ticket inside a gas station when he felt a hand slip into his front-left pants pocket, where he had $300 in cash.
He immediately grabbed the person's wrist with his left hand and started throwing punches with his right, landing six or seven blows before a store manager intervened.
"I guess he thought I was an easy mark," Barnes, 72, told The Grand Rapids Press for a story Tuesday.
He's anything but an easy mark: Barnes served in the Marines, was an accomplished Golden Gloves boxer and retired after 20 years as an iron worker.
Jesse Daniel Rae, the 27-year-old Newaygo County man accused of trying to pick Barnes' pocket, was arraigned Monday in Rockford District Court on one count of unarmed robbery, a 15-year felony.
Barnes said he had just withdrawn the money from a bank machine and put it in the pocket of his shorts before driving to the Marathon service station and Next Door Food Store in Comstock park, a Grand Rapids suburb.
He remembers noticing a patron acting suspiciously, asking the price of different brands of cigarettes and other items. While turned away, Barnes felt the hand in his pocket, so he took action.
"I guess I acted on instinct," he said.
Kent County sheriff's deputies said the store manager quickly came around the counter. The three of them struggled through the front door, where two witnesses said the manager slammed Rae to the ground and held him there.
"There was blood everywhere," said another manager on duty, Abby Ostrom, 25.
Barnes was a regional runner-up in Golden Gloves competition in the novice and open divisions before enlisting in the Marines in 1956.
He lived most of his adult life in Comstock Park with his wife, Patricia, before recently moving to Ottawa County. The couple have three children.
After retiring as an iron worker, he now works part-time as a starter at a golf course.
Barnes said he'd probably do the same thing again under the same circumstances, if for no other reason than what he would face back home.
"I wouldn't want my wife to give me hell for lettin' that guy get my money," he said with a smile.
Wednesday, June 27, 2007
AP
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. -
Bill Barnes says he was scratching off a losing $2 lottery ticket inside a gas station when he felt a hand slip into his front-left pants pocket, where he had $300 in cash.
He immediately grabbed the person's wrist with his left hand and started throwing punches with his right, landing six or seven blows before a store manager intervened.
"I guess he thought I was an easy mark," Barnes, 72, told The Grand Rapids Press for a story Tuesday.
He's anything but an easy mark: Barnes served in the Marines, was an accomplished Golden Gloves boxer and retired after 20 years as an iron worker.
Jesse Daniel Rae, the 27-year-old Newaygo County man accused of trying to pick Barnes' pocket, was arraigned Monday in Rockford District Court on one count of unarmed robbery, a 15-year felony.
Barnes said he had just withdrawn the money from a bank machine and put it in the pocket of his shorts before driving to the Marathon service station and Next Door Food Store in Comstock park, a Grand Rapids suburb.
He remembers noticing a patron acting suspiciously, asking the price of different brands of cigarettes and other items. While turned away, Barnes felt the hand in his pocket, so he took action.
"I guess I acted on instinct," he said.
Kent County sheriff's deputies said the store manager quickly came around the counter. The three of them struggled through the front door, where two witnesses said the manager slammed Rae to the ground and held him there.
"There was blood everywhere," said another manager on duty, Abby Ostrom, 25.
Barnes was a regional runner-up in Golden Gloves competition in the novice and open divisions before enlisting in the Marines in 1956.
He lived most of his adult life in Comstock Park with his wife, Patricia, before recently moving to Ottawa County. The couple have three children.
After retiring as an iron worker, he now works part-time as a starter at a golf course.
Barnes said he'd probably do the same thing again under the same circumstances, if for no other reason than what he would face back home.
"I wouldn't want my wife to give me hell for lettin' that guy get my money," he said with a smile.
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SEMPER FI! 0 -
One for the older victims, round 2 next[:D][}:)][B)][:0] 0 -
I love it when an old timer kicks a young pups ass.... More and more we are seeing that I ain't gonna take it attitude and it is freaking great....Being a crook is becoming A very high risk profession in parts of America... 0 -
Left hook up side the head followed by a right uppercut. Punk didn't know what hit him.[:)] Lucky the Marine didn't use his K-bar
GW.. the boxer.0 -
quote:Originally posted by dheffley
He's anything but an easy mark: Barnes served in the Marines, was an accomplished Golden Gloves boxer and retired after 20 years as an iron worker.
I'd say he wrote the book on picking the wrong guy to mess with...0 -
..I just love those kind of stories. Thanks for putting a grin on my face..[^] 0 -
OORAH! 0 -
Love it![8D] 0 -
heh heh heh 0 -
Love seeing the older generation not taking no chit off the youngsters.[:D] 0 -
right on 0 -
Here is another member of the greatest generation caring for himself.[:D]
Walter Swita has been carrying a gun since a previous attack.
By PATRICIA MEADE
VINDICATOR CRIME REPORTER
YOUNGSTOWN - Walter Swita used a German Luger 9 mm pistol he brought home from World War II to shoot an intruder he suspects robbed him a few weeks ago.
The intruder, Benjamin Brooks, 44, of East Philadelphia Avenue, died Sunday at St. Elizabeth Health Center. Swita shot him in the head and chest around 10:30 p.m. Friday.
Brooks, whose record included robbery and breaking and entering, lived around the corner from Swita.
"Watch out for the blood on the rug," Swita, 83, said as he welcomed a reporter into the living room of his South Avenue home Monday. "That's his blood. I hit my head on the TV stand when we fell."
The elderly man's 80-year-old two-story house is in the middle of a commercial district that features bars, eateries and other businesses. As a safety precaution, he's considering cutting back or removing a large bush that obscures his front porch.
"I think he's the one who attacked me about six weeks ago in the back yard," Swita said of Brooks. "He smashed me hard in the face and when I fell down he looked through my wallet and took $60."
Changed a few habits
Swita said he started carrying his German Luger after the attack, not sure whether the vintage pistol would even fire. He said he served in General George Patton's 3rd Army but didn't shoot at anyone. He repaired tanks and Jeeps.
After the first robbery, Swita, who lives alone, began parking across the street when he returned home, not in his rear yard driveway. He'd hide the pistol against his leg until he was safe inside.
Swita said that on Friday night, a man he'd seen hurrying up East Philadelphia grabbed him around the neck as he reached the porch and unlocked the door. The elderly man said he fired two shots at the intruder and they fell to the floor.
His account
Swita, "shaking like a leaf," said he sat down to call 911 to report the shooting. The call taker asked if the man who'd been shot was breathing. Swita said he told her he didn't care.
He assumed the intruder would die because of the shot to the head. He doesn't expect to be charged with any crime, reasoning that he just defended himself in his own home.
"Was I scared? You bet, both times, whoof!" Swita said, exhaling as he recalled the frightening encounters. "You don't know what they'll do to you. A witness said there were two [other] guys waiting on the sidewalk and they ran when they heard the shots."
Swita figures Brooks would have let the two men in to ransack the house.
Swita said he never married and retired in 1984 from the William Pollock Company as a lay-out man for steel ladles. He dotes on a sister who lives in Poland, takes her to play bingo every evening.
The night Brooks was shot, Swita was returning from his sister's.
A lot of people have told Swita that he should move but he says he's got 80 years of junk in the house and will likely stay. He wants his Luger back from the police, though, for protection.
"Plus, it's probably worth $1,500."
meade@vindy.com0
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