Liquor Store Clerk Kills Breastaurant Cook Robber In Tampa Holdup

By Bob Owens | 12:32 PM | February 22, 2016

12341099_1652927848326463_2840738759551739696_n — Cody Bolesta (right) was killed attempting to hold up a liquor store in Tampa, FL (Facebook photo)

A pair of would-be liquor store robbers in Tampa Bay attempted to target the wrong man.

One of two men attempting to rob a Tampa liquor store was shot to death in an exchange of gunfire with the clerk late Sunday, police said.

Cody Bolesta, 20, was found fatally shot on the sidewalk near Cut Rate Liquors, at 3312 N. 15th St., in the V.M. Ybor neighborhood, police said.

Detectives are working to track down the other suspect, who fled the scene.

The store employee, a 57-year-old man, was not injured.

The case will be turned over to prosecutors once the investigation is complete, but no charges are expected against the clerk.

Cody Bolesta’s Facebook page suggests that the Twin Peaks cook was into the “gangsta” lifestyle.

It is not known if the revolver Bolesta brandished in numerous photos on his Facebook page was the weapon used to open fire on the clerk.

Bob Owens is the Editor of BearingArms.com. Bob is a graduate of roughly 400 hours of professional firearms training classes, including square range and force-on force work with handguns and carbines. He is a past volunteer instructor with Project Appleseed. He most recently received his Vehicle Close Quarters Combat Instructor certification from Centrifuge Training, and is the author of the short e-book, So You Want to Own a Gun. He can be found on Twitter at bob_owens.