https://nypost.com/2022/08/05/las-vegas-vape-store-owner-defends-himself-by-stabbing-would-be-robber/

More info. He feared for his life.

JABQ04 said:

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Dude behind the counter looked like he knew wtf he was doing with that knife.

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Yep.

Did he cut into the spinal cord there at the end? As soon as it went in there, the perp was out of it.

Clean kill. And hillarious.

Ol_Ag_02 said:

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MouthBQ98 said:

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I'm not stabbing some fool over $50 because a lawyer costs WAY more than that

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This is dumb. Idiots come to rob you store. Do you just wait until they pull a gun on you before you decide to defend yourself. Because of that point your life is their hands and you're now at the mercy of some piece of **** criminal.

Kid deserves a medal.

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No, but I don't think I react quite as soon as he did. Then again I can't say exactly what I would do.

Yes: mission 1 is to survive, and it is definitely arguable enough of a threat was there.

Mission 2 is to try to not get prosecuted or sued if it can be avoided. That usually costs WAY more than property losses even if you win.

I rewatched the longer version with more context and he already offered them a "take" to steal and just go away, but that one dude still came over the counter at him. I'm more solid on clear self defense after reviewing it.

Johnny04 said:

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F thieves. If the system won't hold them accountable, the citizenry will. Jury nullification.

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There was a trial around here years ago in which the defendant knew that he was innocent but didn't know what he was doing at the time. During the trial, someone said something that prompted the defendant to remember where he was that day. He was in the county jail of a nearby county.

So he told his lawyer and his lawyer told the judge. The judge adjourned court to the next morning and had someone call the sheriff of the other county. The next morning, the sheriff was there along with his jail records to prove that the defendant really was in jail at the time. After the sheriff's testimony, the judge naturally dismissed the charges.

From what I've been told, a number of the jurors were upset because they figured that they would have another trial on another matter for the defendant sooner or later and so they wanted to put him away for a few years while they could.

After seeing the full video (which, interestingly enough, is usually not available for some really really odd reason in other situations similar to this), the robbers had plenty of time and warning to stop what they were doing. The guy in the white shirt escalated it and then his buddy - who looked like Darth Vader - jumped over the counter at the wrong time with the wrong person behind the counter.

Watched it again. It was obvious to me, watching at home, that the guy jumping the counter was going for merchandise, but the whole thing happened in a split second. It still seems reasonable for the clerk to think the guy was going to come for him. And this isn't some random person he bumped into on the subway. These guys were already knee-deep into a felony.

From video, yeah he was going for merch. From POV of clerk, robber jumps counter to where he is. In TX it doesn't matter as you can use deadly force for any robbery (right?). Anyways, I dont understand how long people think the clerk is supposed to wait...

That store owner seemed so nice that if they asked nice enough he probably would've just gave it to them.

Watch the extended version and you'll see that this was clearly self defense. I could never be as calm as that dude was throughout the whole ordeal. But I've got mouths to feed and if you come rushing over the counter, and in that split second I have to decide it's my life or yours, sorry about your bad luck.

Do you expect him to wait a few seconds to see if they are armed? And out numbered, what does that have to do with anything? If anyone is a threat to your personal well being, don't you have a right to defend yourself?

Other thread said the guy didn't die

If the perp survives he will get an attorney and sue. It's happened before with home intruders so likely here too if he survived.

I'd like Aggiehawg's take.

MouthBQ98 said:

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As much as I utterly dispose property crimes like theft, did they have arms, make a threat of force, or initiate an attack on his person, or were they just trying a grab and run?

I'd agree if they came at him into reach and he was outnumbered he definitely had a right to defend a perceived threat. The question is if he can pursue to continue the defense?

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In a vacuum, petty larceny doesn't deserve the death penalty (he didn't die so we're moving into the land of the hypothetical). However, a mask wearing adult coming over the counter is a big league threat so I don't blame the clerk at all for assuming the worst and moving to neutralize the perp. He had no idea if that guy was about to pull a gun and if you wait to see a gun you're screwed.

I don't really have a ton of sympathy for the guy. At first thought I did but then again, when you jump over a counter like that with a mask, what is the other guy to assume? Even if you don't make a move for him, what exactly do you think he thinks is possible in that moment?? May not be justified, but it also shouldn't be the most shocking response in the world, especially now days. You gotta know there's a non-insignificant probability of that happening when you do something like that. Legal or not.

Maybe stuff like this wouldn't happen in the first place if D.A.'s all over the country didn't refuse to prosecute hard criminals?

Edit: Legally speaking, I'm sure this guy is in spotty territory.

This is a more complete clip.

Depends on what he did after the guy was no longer a threat.

Robbery. Legal defense. All day every day

Dude was defending himself. He had a knife. It's not going to be pretty.

DannyDuberstein said:

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Robbery. Legal defense. All day every day

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Does that not depend on the state? I seriously doubt it's that simple. Not saying it shouldn't or should be that way.

redcrayon said:

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MouthBQ98 said:

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Ol_Ag_02 said:

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MouthBQ98 said:

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I'm not stabbing some fool over $50 because a lawyer costs WAY more than that

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This is dumb. Idiots come to rob you store. Do you just wait until they pull a gun on you before you decide to defend yourself. Because of that point your life is their hands and you're now at the mercy of some piece of **** criminal.

Kid deserves a medal.

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No, but I don't think I react quite as soon as he did. Then again I can't say exactly what I would do.

Yes: mission 1 is to survive, and it is definitely arguable enough of a threat was there.

Mission 2 is to try to not get prosecuted or sued if it can be avoided. That usually costs WAY more than property losses even if you win.

I rewatched the longer version with more context and he already offered them a "take" to steal and just go away, but that one dude still came over the counter at him. I'm more solid on clear self defense after reviewing it.

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Read the article I posted. They had already been there and stole his tip jar. He knew they were up to no good.

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This is the first time I have seen someone stabbed. I saw a guy get slashed across the stomach in high school, but that was nothing compared to this. Good on this guy for his violence of action. I bet that hurt like hell though.

Easy answer is no, because the guy isn't dead.

It's in Las Vegas, so lethal force isn't allowed for defense of property. He did say he feared for his life. It will be interesting to see what happens.

While he's trying to make the 911 call, perp interrupts the store owner to say "it wasn't my idea". Owner says "shut up".

I like to think of this as an ounce of prevention. If these two wannabe thugs got away with this crime, it's not long until they graduate to something more brazen and deadly. I doubt this guy is ever jumping over a counter again.

eric76 said:

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JABQ04 said:

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Dude behind the counter looked like he knew wtf he was doing with that knife.

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Yep.

Did he cut into the spinal cord there at the end? As soon as it went in there, the perp was out of it.

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Yes. Hit him on the top of the back/base of the neck. Dude went limp after that.

I think it was an accidental but lucky strike.

I think that's justified. As soon as he came over the counter he put his life up for grabs. I know he's not dead, but if he was I think the clerk would walk.

I get he may have tried to retreat from the clerk, but I also can't fault the clerk for maintaining contact. Last thing you want at that range and with control of the situation is to let him go only for him to turn around with a gun. There's no way to know if he's running away or feinting.

I don't think committing a crime automatically necessitates or justifies a lethal response, but this one certainly did.

So,


Who died??