GreekGod
06-27-2007, 10:58 AM
Senior citizen whips would-be pickpocket, witnesses say
Tuesday, June 26, 2007 By Tom Rademacher
The Grand Rapids Press
Bill Barnes didn't have any luck playing a $2 lottery ticket last Friday at a service station in Comstock Park.
But he scored big-time against a man less than half his age who allegedly tried to steal $300 in cash from his pocket while he stood scratching his ticket.
Barnes, 72, pummeled the 27-year-old alleged thief with six or seven punches until a store manager moved in to assist.
<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 border=0><TBODY><TR><TD><NOSCRIPT></NOSCRIPT></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>http://ads16.udc.advance.net/RealMedia/ads/adstream_lx.ads/www.mlive.com/xml/story/N/NETR/1291809403/StoryAd/MICHIGANLIVE/FordRC01_MI_RoS_Rect_02c/ford_GMI_300x250ros_mi.html/343763643432636534363832613134 30?_RM_EMPTY_&
<NOSCRIPT></NOSCRIPT>Lesson learned: Don't mess with a senior citizen who served in the Marines, was a runner-up in Golden Gloves boxing competition and was an iron worker for 20 years.
Jesse Daniel Rae, of Newaygo County, was arraigned Monday in Rockford District Court. He's charged with one count of unarmed robbery, a 15-year felony.
"I guess he thought I was an easy mark," said Barnes, who was checking his lottery ticket when he felt someone stick a hand into his front-left pants pocket.
"I knew he was going for my money," said Barnes, "so I just turned around and started hitting him."
Barnes had just visited a nearby ATM and withdrawn the $300, then stuffed the wad of bills into the pocket of his shorts and driven to the Marathon service station and Next Door Food Store at 4616 Alpine Ave. NW.
He remembers noticing a patron acting suspiciously, asking the price of different brands of cigarettes and other items, for instance, and while turned away, felt a hand in his pocket.
"I guess I acted on instinct," he said, recalling he grabbed the man's left wrist with his left hand to hold it down and started swinging, no questions asked.
Bill Dutcher, who was managing the service station's store at the time, quickly came around the counter and the three of them struggled through the front door, where, according to two witnesses, Dutcher slammed Rae to the ground and held him there. Dutcher could not be reached for comment.
"There was blood everywhere," said another manager on duty, Abby Ostrom, 25. She and clerk Amanda Clark, 22, used bleach and water to wash off the door, stoop and outside pavement.
"The trash can tipped, there were coffee grounds flying -- it was something to see, let me tell you," Clark said.
Kent County sheriff's deputies responded to the scene shortly after 9 a.m. and, according to Ostrom, handcuffed Rae and shackled his ankles before escorting him to the Kent County Jail.
At 6 feet and 195 pounds, Barnes is taller and weighs more than the 5-foot-9, 135-pound Rae. But Barnes acknowledged he was out of gas by the time Dutcher came to his aid, explaining he suffers from chronic obstruction pulmonary disease.
"I could hardly breathe," Barnes said after the ordeal, which the store employees agreed lasted the better part of four minutes, including the time Rae unsuccessfully struggled to break free before deputies arrived.
Barnes grew up in the Kent City area., He was a West Michigan 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 moving to Ottawa County recently. The couple have three children. As an iron worker, Barnes had a hand in erecting the Weather Ball in its original position atop the Michigan National Bank building in downtown Grand Rapids. Now retired, he works part-time as a starter at Pilgrim's Run golf course.
Rae has a couple of minor traffic convictions and a conviction in 2001 for possession of marijuana, but no known history of assault or robbery. He was jailed in lieu of a $15,000 cash/surety bond.
Barnes said he did not suffer a scratch during the altercation, but that the left arm he used to hold the would-be robber at bay was a little sore.
He said he probably would do the same thing should anyone try to take his cash, 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.
(a security video of this would be #1 on the internet!)
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Tuesday, June 26, 2007 By Tom Rademacher
The Grand Rapids Press
Bill Barnes didn't have any luck playing a $2 lottery ticket last Friday at a service station in Comstock Park.
But he scored big-time against a man less than half his age who allegedly tried to steal $300 in cash from his pocket while he stood scratching his ticket.
Barnes, 72, pummeled the 27-year-old alleged thief with six or seven punches until a store manager moved in to assist.
<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 border=0><TBODY><TR><TD><NOSCRIPT></NOSCRIPT></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>http://ads16.udc.advance.net/RealMedia/ads/adstream_lx.ads/www.mlive.com/xml/story/N/NETR/1291809403/StoryAd/MICHIGANLIVE/FordRC01_MI_RoS_Rect_02c/ford_GMI_300x250ros_mi.html/343763643432636534363832613134 30?_RM_EMPTY_&
<NOSCRIPT></NOSCRIPT>Lesson learned: Don't mess with a senior citizen who served in the Marines, was a runner-up in Golden Gloves boxing competition and was an iron worker for 20 years.
Jesse Daniel Rae, of Newaygo County, was arraigned Monday in Rockford District Court. He's charged with one count of unarmed robbery, a 15-year felony.
"I guess he thought I was an easy mark," said Barnes, who was checking his lottery ticket when he felt someone stick a hand into his front-left pants pocket.
"I knew he was going for my money," said Barnes, "so I just turned around and started hitting him."
Barnes had just visited a nearby ATM and withdrawn the $300, then stuffed the wad of bills into the pocket of his shorts and driven to the Marathon service station and Next Door Food Store at 4616 Alpine Ave. NW.
He remembers noticing a patron acting suspiciously, asking the price of different brands of cigarettes and other items, for instance, and while turned away, felt a hand in his pocket.
"I guess I acted on instinct," he said, recalling he grabbed the man's left wrist with his left hand to hold it down and started swinging, no questions asked.
Bill Dutcher, who was managing the service station's store at the time, quickly came around the counter and the three of them struggled through the front door, where, according to two witnesses, Dutcher slammed Rae to the ground and held him there. Dutcher could not be reached for comment.
"There was blood everywhere," said another manager on duty, Abby Ostrom, 25. She and clerk Amanda Clark, 22, used bleach and water to wash off the door, stoop and outside pavement.
"The trash can tipped, there were coffee grounds flying -- it was something to see, let me tell you," Clark said.
Kent County sheriff's deputies responded to the scene shortly after 9 a.m. and, according to Ostrom, handcuffed Rae and shackled his ankles before escorting him to the Kent County Jail.
At 6 feet and 195 pounds, Barnes is taller and weighs more than the 5-foot-9, 135-pound Rae. But Barnes acknowledged he was out of gas by the time Dutcher came to his aid, explaining he suffers from chronic obstruction pulmonary disease.
"I could hardly breathe," Barnes said after the ordeal, which the store employees agreed lasted the better part of four minutes, including the time Rae unsuccessfully struggled to break free before deputies arrived.
Barnes grew up in the Kent City area., He was a West Michigan 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 moving to Ottawa County recently. The couple have three children. As an iron worker, Barnes had a hand in erecting the Weather Ball in its original position atop the Michigan National Bank building in downtown Grand Rapids. Now retired, he works part-time as a starter at Pilgrim's Run golf course.
Rae has a couple of minor traffic convictions and a conviction in 2001 for possession of marijuana, but no known history of assault or robbery. He was jailed in lieu of a $15,000 cash/surety bond.
Barnes said he did not suffer a scratch during the altercation, but that the left arm he used to hold the would-be robber at bay was a little sore.
He said he probably would do the same thing should anyone try to take his cash, 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.
(a security video of this would be #1 on the internet!)
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