Armed Bystander Halts Gas Station Robbery

A courageous bystander stopped a pair of thieves from continuing their weekend crime spree in Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina. As the two men were robbing a Kangaroo clerk at gunpoint, a customer inside the stored pulled out his own weapon and confronted the thieves. When confronted by the customer, one of the men fled. Police apprehended both men shortly. Here’s the full story

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MT. PLEASANT, SC (WCSC) –

Mt. Pleasant police have connected the two armed robbery suspects foiled by a gun-toting bystander at a Kangaroo convenience store this week to two robberies from last Sunday.

According to court documents released Friday, 17-year-old Deion Watson and 23-year-old Markel Jovan Wright are also responsible for the armed robberies of the Kangaroo on Bessemer Road and the Kangaroo on Joe Rouse Road.

Investigators say Watson admitted to them that he and Wright were responsible for those robberies, which happened just before midnight Sunday.

Their crime spree could have continued, if not for the efforts of a brave citizen on Wednesday.

Police say Wright and Watson entered the Kangaroo Convenience Store at 2846 Highway 17 North store around 7:20 p.m. with rags covering their faces and armed with a gun.

Police say suspects showed the clerk the gun before taking an undisclosed amount of money. A shot was fired as the suspects were leaving, Gragg added. Investigators said Wright fired the shot in the direction of the clerk. The bullet struck a sharp object before grazing the clerk’s harm, causing a small cut, police said.

A man at the store then saw what was happening and pulled out his own handgun as the suspects left the store. Police say the passerby challenged the suspects at gunpoint. Watson remained on scene until police arrived, but Wright fled, according to investigators.

Wright was captured in Huger, where he’s from, by US Marshals late Thursday. Wright was denied bond on armed robbery charges, one day after Deion Watson was issued a $200,000 bond. On Friday, both suspects remained behind bars at the Charleston County Detention Center.

Wright was just released from jail last week after posting $10,000 bond on a fraud charge. Mt. Pleasant police said Wright stole over $3,000 in cash from registers at the Walmart on Highway 17 North, where he worked for about two weeks this month.

He is also facing violent charges in Darlington County. SLED records show he was charged with attempted murder and discharging firearms into a dwelling in February of 2012.

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