Good Samaritans stop robber at Pine Manor grocery store

A clerk quit her job after she was attacked. Surveillance video showed a robber attacking the clerk with a wooden plank, but he didn’t get away. In the surveillance video, good-Samaritan customers tackle the robber and hold him down, not letting him leave.

Lee County Sheriff’s Office arrested, Joe Harris, 30, for Robbery (With Weapon) Wednesday at Carniceria Monterrey grocery store in Pine Manor.

Customers told WINK News they are not surprised people at that family-owned business stepped in to help.

“It’s a nice family store and never an issue,” Alex Torres said.

The attacker, caught on surveillance, is seen walking into the store with a wooden two-by-four plank. The robber steals cash from the counter drawer and begins to move toward the store exit. That’s when customers began to intervene.

“I’m glad that someone put a stop to it,” Torres said. “It’s a lot of people that try and get away with stuff like that.”

The manager and an employee told WINK News the clerk who was attacked immediately quit her job at the store following the incident.

A clerk who worked at the store Thursday said this has never happened in the eight years she has worked there.

“It all depends on the situation,” Torres said of bystander who were willing to respond during the crisis situation. “But I think they are more apt to help, especially in something like here where everybody just comes in.”

Stopping a robber in the act requires careful consideration for everyone’s safety. In this situation, customers in the store made the right call.

“It’s very sad,” Torres said. “But it’s very good they caught the person …. That’s one less person.”

The clerk who was attacked only worked at the store for three weeks.

That attack at the store happened after 7 p.m.

Trust WINK News to update you as more information becomes available.