WOONSOCKET — The quick-thinking owner of a Social District package store turned the tables on a man who had a knife to his throat and threatened to kill him for money Tuesday, police said.
The run-in at U-Save Liquors began at 10:28 p.m., when 20-year-old Kevin Mortimer entered the store and asked the owner, John Quinn where he kept the vodka, said Detective Lt. Eugene Jalette. Quinn was showing him the brands he had in stock when Mortimer suddenly came up behind him, wrapped one arm around his waist and held a knife to his throat with the other. The owner struggled with Mortimer, causing the armed man to cut himself on the forearm with his own knife.
At that point, Quinn broke away from Mortimer, letting the robber think he had gotten the better of him, said Jalette. Mortimer allegedly told him, “I don’t want to kill you but I need the money for my rent,” said Jalette.
After the owner gave Mortimer the keys to the store, the would-be robber began attempting to lock the front door. The owner used the distraction to step into the office to get his Walther PPK, the same pocket-size handgun that British spy novelist Ian Fleming made the signature weapon of his famous fictional character, James Bond. Fleming’s influence is said to have been a major factor in the popularity of the distinctive-looking weapon, which has been around since the 1930s.
With the firearm trained on Mortimer, Quinn reached for a phone with his free hand to call the police, at which point Mortimer ran from the store. Moments later, Patrolmen Michael Flood and Sean Carpenter captured Mortimer on a footpath that hugs the Blackstone River, just behind the store. Mortimer was arrested after a wrestling match with his arresting officers that ended only after he was in handcuffs and leg irons, said Jalette.
Mortimer did not require medical treatment for what was described as a small cut on his arm. After being held overnight at police headquarters, Mortimer was arraigned in District Court Wednesday and ordered held without bail at the Adult Correctional Institutions pending a review hearing on July 15, according to court records.
Quinn reports that he’s been in business 13 years and he’s never been the target of a holdup before. He said Mortimer repeatedly threatened to kill him during the course of the attempted robbery because he was desperate for money, and Quinn took the threats seriously.
“What would you think if somebody has a knife to your throat and says he’s sorry, but he needs the money?” Quinn said. “I figured it was going to be me or him, and it wasn’t going to be me.”
But Quinn said he used more brains than brawn to overpower the younger man. When he broke off the struggle, Quinn convinced Mortimer that he couldn’t fight any longer because he had heart trouble and needed a drink. Mortimer was so desperate to be in control of the situation that he actually fetched him a cup of coffee from the brew-station in the store, Quinn said.
“It’s not always the more powerful or the armed one who wins,” said Quinn. “It’s the smart one.” (Link Removed)