Police say Josef Alley, owner of Joe’s Grocery and Deli at 12223 Col. Glenn Road, shot two men who tried to rob the store this morning. The two suspects are now under police guard at Baptist Medical Center, one in critical condition from a chest wound, the other with a wound to the leg. Their identities were not released.
Alley, 59, said the men, after one put a gun to his chest, demanded money about 10 a.m. He gave them money from the register and then one jumped over the counter and demanded money kept below the register. Alley complied. After the man jumped back over to the customer side of the counter, Alley reached under the counter for his own gun and fired five or six shots at the robbers with his Smith and Wesson .357. He said he struck them both. One man fell as he left the store, dropping money and his gun. But both managed to get in a car and drive away, hitting a fence as they left.
The injuries to the driver were severe and he stopped the car on the on-ramp to Interstate 430 from Col. Glenn. He apparently used a cellphone to dial 911. MEMS arrived along with police to take the wounded men to Baptist. Lt. Terry Hastings said the man shot in the leg left a long trail of blood.