When robbing a convenience store, you should: A) ensure your ski mask is on properly B) make sure the cash register is unplugged before trying to make off with it C) never relinquish possession of your gun D) all of the above

An attempted robbery suspect is in custody after, police say, he got more than he bargained for while trying to hold up a Gastonia convenience store.

The security video at the Southern Convenience Store at the corner of North New Hope Road and Ozark Avenue shows a car pulling up around 11:45 p.m. Friday. A man gets out of the car, spends several minutes digging in a Dumpster, finds a plastic bag and goes inside.

What the security video shows next could be right from the "dumb criminals" file.

The man on the security tape walks in the door -- a lopsided ski mask over his face -- then drops the bag, stumbles and picks it up. He says something to the clerk. The clerk, Guillermo Troncoso, said the man asked for money.

"I thought he was joking because his mask, he didn't put it the right way," said Troncoso.

Then, Troncoso said, the man showed him a gun.

"He says, 'I have a gun' and I said, 'I don't care about the gun,'" Troncoso said.

Then the man on the security video is seen reaching over and grabbing the entire cash register off the counter and pulling it away.

Troncoso pulls back on the register's electric cord, and the gunman falls down -- cash register and all.

Troncoso said before the man grabbed the cash register, he made an even bigger mistake -- he put the gun on the counter. A quick-thinking Troncoso grabbed the gun -- and a baseball bat.

"I feel a little sad," said Troncoso, "because I'm not the kind of human being who likes to hit people."

The security video shows Troncoso jumping on the counter and swinging the bat several times, hitting the gunman in the head. The man runs out the door, slips and falls in the parking lot and gets into his car.

Troncoso is seen running after him, swinging the bat. He said he smashed out the car's rear window, which would become an important clue in finding the gunman.

Saturday afternoon, when Gastonia police officers arrived at a home across town to serve involuntary commitment papers, they found the car -- smashed rear window, ski mask and all.

Inside the home, they found Randall Scott Strait, 47, sleeping, with a bloody bruise on his head and an injured elbow.

"He made a couple of comments inside the house," said Gastonia Police Sgt. Jeff Clark. "Ssomething to the effect of, 'The guy grabbed my gun when I went to get money.'"

Police arrested Strait and took him to a hospital. He will be charged with attempted armed robbery and possession of a firearm by a felon.

Department of Corrections records show Strait spent two years in jail in the 1980s for breaking and entering and possession of stolen goods.

The fortunate turn of events is not lost on Clark. "Good living sometimes works out, and the cards seem to fall your way," said Clark. "That's what seemed to help us."

Troncoso, the clerk, doesn't think he's a hero or even especially brave. He said he was just trying to protect his boss' business.

"I know people think I'm a foolish guy because the guy has a gun," said Troncoso. "I wasn't thinking about that. I was just trying to do the right thing."



http://www.wcnc.com/news/neighborhood-news/Store-clerk-fights-back-hit-would-be-...