Firearms Owners Against Crime
Institute for Legal, Legislative and Educational Action
Institute for Legal, Legislative and Educational Action
The Evansville Police Department and the two victims involved in Tuesday's incident at Eastland Mall are commending the actions of a group of good samaritans, specifically the man who prevented the suspects from allegedly running over the 66-year-old victim.
Brittany Deener, 20, and Morgan Blair, 20, have been charged with strong arm robbery, criminal recklessness with a vehicle, theft and hit and run in connection with Tuesday’s incident. The victims, 66-year-old Betty Jones and 82-year-old Myrna Chumley, were seated at the food court inside the mall when Deener and Blair allegedly snatched their purses.
“The young girl that stole my purse walked past me and she smiled and said, 'are you ladies having a nice day?' I remember looking at her and thinking what a pretty young girl she was,” Jones said. “She was just sort of sizing us up. I guess she thought we were easy marks."
The female suspects then fled out the front doors of the mall as the two elderly victims gave chase. In fact, the victims caught up with the suspects, who are 40 and 60 years their junior.
“[Myrna] took off like a flash of lightning and she actually beat me to the girls car,” Jones said.
A group of concerned citizens joined in the chase of the suspects and were able to block their vehicle in an effort to keep them from leaving, according to the probable cause affidavit.
Police said Deener was backing out of the parking lot while Jones was outside of the vehicle next to an open door. When Deener backed out, the open door clipped Jones and knocked her to the ground. That’s when 33-year-old David Roberts, one of the concerned citizens, intervened, police said.
Roberts, who lives in Owensboro, had a valid gun permit, police said. He fired multiple times into the vehicle’s tires, according to the probable cause affidavit.
“If [Deener] had gone forward, she would have run me over,” Jones said. “But instead, [Roberts] was firing at the tires and [Deener] backed up away from me. He was defending me. He was keeping me from being run over."
Jones said she can’t thank Roberts enough for potentially saving her life. She also expressed gratitude for the other good samaritans and police officers that arrived. She only suffered minor scrapes and bruises but knows it could have been worse.
“We hear bad things and we only hear bad things. But something good came out of a bad thing on Tuesday," Jones said. “It could have been bad. It could have been really bad. But thanks to a lot of good people, it turned out pretty well.”
At this point, police said it appears that Roberts’ use of force was legally justified. The prosecutor’s office is in the process of reviewing the case file.
According to state statute, a person can use deadly force when he or she, ‘reasonably believes that the force is necessary to prevent serious bodily injury to the person or a third person.’
“It certainly appears that way to me. What he was doing was literally intervening in an attempt to prevent harm to somebody else," said Evansville Police Captain Andy Chandler. “I certainly commend him for coming to the rescue to help and assist elderly women.”