you have to do something because what if you finish your visit at the starbucks and then go home only to find that the same thieves have set fire to your house and killed your parents? Then you would have to begin a life of vigilantism in order to kill the pain. This scenario really only works if you have been bitten by a radioactive spider. Otherwise, just call the cops or start shooting kneecaps.

a few minutes later they would be in custody w/ no one hurt

Sorry #4…that just cracks me UP! I’ve been robbed at gunpoint several times and not once did the cops ever catch the shady ones. Even with a police station less than a mile away during several. Did they respond quickly? Yes. But it doesn’t take long for them to blend into traffic, or hit an interstate. If it were my business, and they were unarmed, probably. None of my robbers ever came in unarmed. A pal’s biz like this was I think, then possibly. Too bad it wasn’t a convenience store. A surprise gallon of milk against the side of most heads is an effective deterent to staying on your feet. But those darned pitchers of Crem’e'ray at Starbucks isn’t quite the same. I imagine the excitement led that hero to not think that some fools would be so heartless to hit him with a vehicle over a handful of bills. Sad, but america today. But something in me couldn’t just let those pitiful kind of impotent punks walk either. Hope he sees a trial soon with the right result.

These abysmally stupid kids had better pray the good samaritan recovers! Because they have injured him so gravely, they now face a lot more charges than they would have received for the stealing of that tip jar.

I probably wouldn’t tangle with thieves, even if they are just teens, just because I am a woman who is untrained for such situations and unarmed, but I definitely would alert the employees and try to remember the perps’ appearance and license plate numbers for the cops. True, several people have brought up a good point that the police can sometimes be apathetic to tracking down petty criminals, but it would be my best hope for bringing them to justice. That’s not to say this guy didn’t do a sincerely nice thing for his friends at that Starbucks, and of course, hindsight is always 20/20, so who is to say that if I were in his place, I wouldn’t have been angry at these boneheads not to get that tip jar back? Best wishes and get well soon.

I own a business and this same thing has happened. It’s really ashame that people are so hard up they steal somebodys tips. All this over $5. My thoughts and prayers go out to him and his family. I hope these two pay dearly for their stupidity.

Roger is a wonderful person, always helping people, always concerned about others. He is a very good friend and in my prayers.

My conceald carry permint allows me to carry in Missouri. That said, they would not have left the store. If I am in St. Louis. I am armed.

“My conceald carry permint allows me to carry in Missouri. That said, they would not have left the store. If I am in St. Louis. I am armed.
Comment by johnh ”

john, please clarify for us, would you have fired your weapon at them in the store even though there was no physical threat to your life or anyone else’s? The Castle Doctrine covers your home and car, I am not sure about Starbucks.

I hope the injured man survives but his injuries are his own fault. He had no business getting involved in this.

PROBABLY! It’s not a question if the money stolen was $5 or $50,000. It’s a question about whether or not a person has strong enough convictions to stand up for what is right.

Standing up for what’s right, no matter what the cost is not only honorable, but heroic. What’s sad about this situation is not that Roger may loose his life over $5, but that the thief placed more value in his desire of $5 than the life of another person.

One good thing that can come of this, however, is that now the thief will be charged with attempted homicide rather than just petty theft. That pretty much guarantees jail time.

I would like to think I would have said something. Since they were relatively young, I would assume they were just doing it on a lark and the teacher in me would kick in and try to set them straight.

I know minimum, the digital camera would be out right away. Taking pictures of them, their car, the plates.

BTW, why is the security footage so foggy? It seems like the cameras we have outside, high atop poles, on the highways have clearer footage than this camera.

A few related topics would be 1) is it wise/safe to keep money out on the counter for people to grab? 2) why are tip jars everywhere–especially in places where you receive little service (ala Starbucks)?