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Armed robbery is serious business, and a conviction will lead to serious prison time. So you might expect that those contemplating committing this felony would do a little planning beforehand, just to increase the odds of coming away with some loot, and to decrease the odds of getting caught. Based on a recent report on a couple of alleged would-be robbers in Phoenix, advanced planning was apparently not their forté. Here’s what we can glean from one newspaper article. Remember that these are just allegations – nothing has been proven yet.
- Incident no. 1. This past Thursday morning two armed men approached a woman outside a Sonic Drive-In (which was apparently not yet open) near the corner of 99th Avenue and Indian School Road. The woman was an employee of the restaurant, but was off-duty at the time. The men forced themselves and the woman inside her car, took her keys and wallet, and demanded that she unlock the door to the restaurant. She told them she didn’t have the keys, so the men grabbed her cell phone and left.
- Incident no. 2. After leaving the woman at the Sonic, the men were seemingly not satisfied with the results of their first failed attempt of the morning. So they traveled to a nearby International House of Pancakes, intent on trying a similar stunt in a new location. They entered the front door of the IHOP with guns in view, demanding to see the manager. They had apparently learned from their first job of the day that it is important to find the person with the keys. The store manager, however, was not about to meekly follow their orders. He proceeded to run out the back door. After unsuccessfully trying to catch the manager, the two jumped into a Ford Explorer to make their getaway.
- Incident no. 3. The escape went about as you would expect. Within a short time, the men, being pursued by police cruisers, crashed the Ford Explorer into a utility pole. Not content to give up, they attempted to flee on foot, and were soon taken into custody.
So here’s the box score on this contest. Robbers 0 – Cops 5. In case you’re wondering, the robbers ended up with zero because they didn’t manage to steal anything with value. The cops get five because that’s the number of crimes the two are now charged with: attempted armed robbery; kidnapping; aggravated assault; criminal damage; and unlawful flight.
Law Offices of David A. Black
40 North Central Avenue #1850
Phoenix, AZ 85004
(480) 280-8028
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