STOW — A six-year Circle K clerk says the company fired him after he fired seven shots at masked robbers who rammed the front of his Stow store with a stolen minivan in the early hours of Nov. 2, the Akron Beacon Journal reported on Nov. 5. Kendrick Watson, 41, of Stow, was working the night shift at the Circle K at 750 Steels Corner Road when the attempted robbery unfolded, and he told the Akron Beacon Journal his manager contacted him later that same day and told him not to come into work.
The incident happened about 3:30 a.m., according to Stow police, as reported by the Akron Beacon Journal. Watson told the Akron Beacon Journal he was sitting behind the cash register when he heard glass breaking, and became alarmed when he heard it a second time. The robbers rammed the front of the store multiple times with one of the minivans, destroying the glass entryway and dislodging the ATM inside, Stow police said, as reported by the Akron Beacon Journal. Both minivans had been reported stolen from Cleveland, police said.
When four masked men tried to rush into the store, Watson opened fire, shooting seven times, Stow police said, as reported by the Akron Beacon Journal. The shots struck a gas pump, one of the stolen minivans and a post for the canopy over the pumps, and it is unknown whether any of the robbers were injured, police said in a news release, as reported by the Akron Beacon Journal. “I didn’t feel like my life was in danger until I saw them rushing the store,” Watson told the Akron Beacon Journal. “I wanted to protect myself, coworkers and the store. After I fired shots, they ran away,” he told the Akron Beacon Journal.
Stow police took Watson’s gun for the investigation and later returned it, Watson told the Akron Beacon Journal, and Stow police Capt. Bryan Snavely confirmed Watson will not be charged, as reported by the Akron Beacon Journal. “They were very nice, respectful and did their job. They understood the situation,” Watson told the Akron Beacon Journal about the officers.
One suspect was arrested after fleeing west on foot near Steels Corners Road and Wyoga Lake Boulevard in Cuyahoga Falls, according to a Stow Police Department news release reported by the Akron Beacon Journal. USA Carry and The Stow-Munroe Falls Pulse, both reporting the same police release, identified the man as Peirion D. Jackson, 25, of Cleveland, and reported police said he is on parole for a prior robbery. He was arraigned in Stow Municipal Court and is held on $100,000 cash bond in the Summit County Jail on charges of robbery, receiving stolen property and vandalism, according to the police release reported by the Akron Beacon Journal. The charges are allegations, and at least three other suspects escaped in the second stolen minivan, police said.
Watson said he is looking for other work and has started a GoFundMe to help cover bills in the meantime, the Akron Beacon Journal reported. “I’ve tried to be the best employee I could be, even worked 33 days straight one time. I was just disappointed in the way they handled it. I took the actions I did to protect the lives of everyone,” Watson told the Akron Beacon Journal. A person answering the phone at Circle K headquarters in Tempe, Arizona, said no one was available for comment on the incident, the Akron Beacon Journal reported.
Stow police are still trying to locate the getaway vehicle, described as a brown 1997 Chrysler Town & Country, and ask anyone with information to call the Stow Police Department at 330-689-5700, referencing case CR26-22134, police said, as reported by the Akron Beacon Journal and The Stow-Munroe Falls Pulse. The arrested suspect remains jailed on bond while the search for the remaining suspects continues.
Photo: Andre Carrotflower, CC BY-SA