Brian in Mesa

Mesa holdup leaves one dead
By Mike Branom, Tribune
October 21, 2005

It was a scene that could’ve come out the Wild West, right down to the time — high noon. When two armed robbers demanded money at a Mesa check-cashing store Thursday, the owner shot one and wounded the other.

Because of Scott Tracy’s gunslinging at America’s Cash Source, 1940 W. Baseline Road, neither he nor the manager was hurt, and no money was taken, police said. No customers were in the store.

Killed was a 21-year-old black man from Phoenix. A 19-year-old black woman, also from Phoenix, suffered multiple gunshot wounds. She was taken to Scottsdale Healthcare Osborn hospital, where authorities said she was cooperating with police.

"He picked the wrong person to mess with, didn’t he?" said store employee Rhonda Wright. She arrived at work about 1 p.m., and was alarmed to see paramedics and police surrounding the store.

Wright said Tracy kept a pistol in the safe, which was accessible to employees, until liability concerns recently prompted him to remove it from the business — and carry it himself.

But when a worker at an Ahwatukee Foothills business was killed in a late-night robbery last weekend, Tracy’s employees asked their boss to bring back the pistol.

"The gun was always loaded and ready to pop," Wright said.

She added the employees also had been trained to push the panic alarm, then do what the bandits asked.

Tracy and the store’s manager, Ann Lett, were not available for comment Thursday night because they had been taken to Mesa police headquarters for interviews.

"I hope Scott doesn’t get in trouble for it," Wright said.

Authorities said it appeared Tracy was in the clear.

"Based on the initial information, it does appear there are self-defense issues that have been brought up," said detective Tim Gaffney, a police spokesman.

There are 165 checkcashing outlets in the East Valley, and this was 2005's first attempted robbery of such a business in Mesa. By comparison, at least 14 banks and six convenience stores have been robbed in the city this year.

FBI statistics show 200 Arizona banks have been robbed in 2005, with 120 of those cases solved.

The last robbery of a Mesa check-cashing store came in Nov. 16, 2004, when a gang that used gasoline as a weapon attempted its fifth heist. Nobody has been caught in connection with those crimes.

According to police, in Thursday’s attempt the man and woman came in the front door. Their getaway car, a silver Honda Accord registered to the man, was parked about 50 feet away, with its rear driver’s-side door open.

They demanded money, at which point either Tracy or Lett triggered the panic alarm.

A struggle ensued between Tracy and the man, and it ended with the man shot dead. Then, Tracy shot the woman three times.

When authorities arrived, Tracy surrendered his gun and said he had a permit to carry a concealed weapon. But Arizona statutes say Tracy’s permit wasn’t needed in this situation, as he was on his own property and protecting his life.

"Business owners have a right to arm themselves," Gaffney said. "Individuals have a right to protect themselves."

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Not celebrating the death of anyone, but it's nice to hear of incidents like this. Hopefully it makes a person think twice before they attempt to rob someone.

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HONEY BADGER DON'T CARE

jenna2891

that's seems like a lot to me. i didn't think people robbed banks anymore, except in movies. i'm also surprised so many people got away with it.

100%CardsFan

My parents live on the lake right across from where it happened.

arthurracoon

What happened in this?

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Signed,

arthurpostpadder

Divide Et Impera

The starting QB for my HS football team on the frosh and JV teams got busted a few years back for being the "Lightning Bandit", or something like that. I was not living in town at the time, so my knowledge of his crimes is very limited and I can't find anything anywhere on the net. Maybe someone here could help? Charlie Epps is his name....

Brian in Mesa

Robbery, slaying shock Ahwatukee
Murdered employee described as 'kind man'

Sarah Muench and Corinne Purtill
The Arizona Republic
Oct. 18, 2005

Ahwatukee residents were shocked Monday to hear about the shooting death of a local convenience store employee who was a former Harlem Globetrotter executive.

Surveillance video shows 38-year-old Marvin Walters being shot in the head early Sunday morning while trying to grab a robber's gun at the Water and Ice Car Wash store near Chandler Boulevard and 46th Street.

Phoenix Police Sgt. Lauri Williams said Walters was filling in on a night shift.

"The guy was just trying to provide for his family and someone came in and had to take what was not theirs," Williams said.

Phoenix police said convenience stores close to Interstate 10 like the Water and Ice Car Wash are crime hot spots in Ahwatukee Foothills.

"Ahwatukee is a pretty safe place most of the time," said Williams, a Phoenix police spokeswoman. "Unfortunately, convenience markets are a target for them."

Before working for the Globetrotters, Walters, a Philadelphia native, was a point guard for the Fairfield University basketball team in Connecticut.

Angel Zelaya, 41, a clerk who worked with Walters, said he was shocked to hear his co-worker was killed on the job.

"I've been working this kind of job for a long time," said Zelaya, who said he has worked at convenience stores in Ahwatukee for nearly nine years. "We never know. It could be in the morning, it could be in the night time, it could be any time. We never expect that in Ahwatukee. Right here it's so quiet."

Police said the same man robbed Classic Care Car Mart at 56th Street and Ray Road in Tempe about 15 minutes before he killed Walters.

Williams said the robber ordered Walters, who was being groomed for management, into a back room, but he decided to walk out of the store and run from the scene. The killer took an undetermined amount of money from the register and fled.

"It's not anything you can control," Williams said. "Some places are more violent than others, but there's no rhyme or reason to it."

The Ahwatukee Foothills Chamber of Commerce is considering reviving safety in business meetings it held for at least a year, in light of recent crime in the community.

In the past year there also have been armed robberies at a hotel, banks and a jewelry store. Last November, an armored car guard was slain in front of the AMC Ahwatukee 24 theaters.

In reaction to the latest killing, Chamber of Commerce President and state Rep. John McComish said on Monday morning: "It's just awful . . . .To think someone with a gun in his hand is running loose."

Bob Brown, manager of the Water and Ice Car Wash where Walters was shot said the store had been open since April 1 and Walters was training to become a manager.

"I was looking forward to working with him," Brown said. He said he was a "very kind man, very easy to work with, always smiling."

Brown said he and others are setting up a bank account for the family with Bank One.

Jan Miles lived next to Walters near Pecos Road and 32nd Street until he moved out suddenly one night about five to six years ago.

She said he traveled frequently for work and would offer her free Globetrotters tickets when they came to town.

"He was really nice that way, he was really friendly," she said.

The man who killed Walters is described as Hispanic, 20 to 27 years old, 5 feet 9 to 5 feet 11 with brown eyes, light mustache, a muscular build and a shaved head. He was wearing a black T-shirt, dark pants and a white Arizona Cardinals baseball hat, which he left at the scene. He has a tattoo on the side of his neck bearing numbers. He left the store on foot.

Anyone with information is asked to call police at 262-6141, or Silent Witness at (480) WITNESS.

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HONEY BADGER DON'T CARE