Man Who Kicked Robber In The Face Says He'd Do It Again
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- A good Samaritan who kicked a robber in the face says he couldn't stand by and watch his neighborhood store getting robbed.
A snapshot taken from surveillance video inside a St. Paul CVS shows 21-year-old Jesse Moore disarmed a man who had a knife.
"I was outside smoking a cigarette, you know, and I seen something that didn't seem right to me," Moore said.
He was waiting for a cab outside the pharmacy near Arcade Street and Maryland Avenue.
"I seen the man come in the store, I asked him for a light and he ignored me...and he had a mask on," Moore said.
Moore did not know the man with the mask was Simon Hanson.
Minutes before he walked into the CVS, investigators say he tried to rob the Corner Gas station down the block.
Moore watched through the window as Hanson pulled a knife and demanded money from the clerk.
"I was outside looking in, you know, so I took it upon myself to go back in the store 'cause the lady, you understand, she was behind the counter, she just started giving him everything," Moore said.
He says Hanson was pre-occupied and didn't answer him when he asked what he was doing.
"He was talking to the cash, the drawer, the money drawer," Moore said.
While Hanson was distracted, the 21-year-old said he jumped up on the counter.
"When he was getting ready to leave out the door -- that's the picture you got -- I kicked him in his face," Moore said. "And when I kicked him he lost his phone."
After the kick, a struggle ensued.
Moore says he slammed Hanson around and tried to restrain him until police arrived.
"I ended up just letting him go, but I ended up taking all the money from him," Moore said.
He added that he also pulled off Hanson's mask.
Hanson was caught after he called his cell phone to try and get it back. A police officer answered and set up a time to meet. That's when Hanson led them on a high speed chase but was apprehened a short time later.
Police say they do not encourage people to fight back when getting robbed.
But Moore says he would kick the robber again to protect the people at the store.