Store clerk puts up fight during attempted armed robbery
By: Rebecca Turco
Email: rturco@abc6.com
PAWTUCKET – A Pawtucket store clerk held at knife point put up a fight during an attempted armed robbery.
Max Flores of Pawtucket Food Mart used quick-thinking to drive the robber away, ending the ordeal without a scratch on either of them.
Police say Tyree Tilson, 19, came into the store late Tuesday night and brandished a knife. “He said, ‘Give me the money,’ several times,” Flores told ABC6 News. “I told him, ‘We have no money. Please go away.’”
In an adrenaline rush, Flores grasped an easy grabber in one hand and started flailing it, ready to hit Tilson if he needed to. In Flores’ other hand, he dialed 911.
“I was a little afraid,” Flores said. “Then at the same time, I wasn’t, because it was a small knife.”
Soon after, Tilson gave up on the clerk and grabbed someone else’s groceries before leaving. No one was hurt.
“It isn’t common that a clerk fights back,” explained Pawtucket Detective Sergeant Paul Brandley. “Fortunately it worked out very well.”
Police eventually caught Tilson after he robbed a nearby liquor store, Fairlawn Wine and Spirits, Wednesday night. “We had units close-by that were able to flood the area and see the suspect running down the street,” Brandley said.
Tilson admitted to both crimes and is charged with two counts of first-degree armed robbery.
Flores feels somewhat at ease now that Tilson has been charged, but he is still wary. “I hope it never happens again,” Flores relayed.
© WLNE-TV 2015
