Taking a Slice Out of Crime: West Virginia Pizzaria Employees Wound Robber with Knife

If you are thinking about robbing an establishment it might be best to avoid ones located in West Virginia. On Sunday, June 17, 2007, Dewayne LeMont McGregor allegedly made the poor decision to do just that. He's accused of entering Paesano's Pizza in Martinsburg, WV in an attempt to rob the restaurant.

Eugen Schiriac, general manager for the pizzeria, was outside of the store around 9:30 p.m. Sunday night with his wife preparing for a delivery. McGregor allegedly approached the couple pointing a Ruger Single Six-.22-caliber revolver at them.

"For some reason, I just didn't want him to get inside," Schiriac told the Herald-Mail, "I thought he really didn't want to kill anybody. He just wanted the money."

However, police said McGregor did make it inside of the restaurant and demanded money out of the cash register. The employee told the robber that he didn't know how to access the cash register and was promptly hit in the head with the pistol, requiring eight stitches. The robber then put the pistol to another employee's head, which was the beginning of his demise.

NBC 2 showed video of the incident and how the employees fought back. Shiriac used a folding chair as a type of shield and then went into the kitchen and found a huge kitchen knife. He then began to cut and stab at the robber, injuring him and ending the incident.

An arrest warrant signed by Magistrate Jim Humphrey states, "They were able to get the gun away from (the man), and they dragged him outside where he got up and ran from the scene."

Berkeley County Sheriff's Chief Deputy Kenneth Lemaster and West Virginia State Police Trooper J.D. Burkhart apprehended McGregor. He was half-naked and bleeding. As he attempted to flee from police, he slipped on the damp grass and fell. Missing clothing and items were located at Paesano's Pizza covered in blood.

"We were lucky nobody got shot," Paesano's Pizza general manager Eugen Schiriac said in an interview Monday with the Herald-Mail.

This is not the first time in WV that employees have gotten fed up and fought back during a robbery. In August of 2006, WOWK-TV reported that Jeff McCloud, a pharmacist at McCloud Family Pharmacy in Lavalette, WV defended himself against a knife-wielding robber. McCloud and the robber were both wounded during that incident.

In November of 2006, Family Discount Pharmacy in Stollings, WV was robbed and people were held hostage for over 90 minutes. That situation was ended after the hostages waited for the perpetrator to get drowsy from drugs ingested and then beat him over the head with the stock of his own rifle.

So robbers beware in West Virginia! You may get more than you bargained for: wounds, blood, and a jail term.

SOURCES:

Matthew Umstead, "Berkeley Co. pizza shop staff foils man's robbery attempt." Herald-Mail. URL: (http://www.herald-mail.com/?module=displaystory&story_id=168314&format=html)

"Caught on Video: Pizzaria Robber Stabbed." NBC 2. URL: (http://www.nbc-2.com/articles/readarticle.asp?articleid=13088&z=3&p=)

"Wayne County Pharmacist Attacked With Knife." WOWK-TV. URL: (http://www.wowktv.com/story.cfm?func=viewstory&storyid=12855&catid=108&)

Alice Meadows, "Geoffrey Harvey Pleads Guilty to Federal Charges for WV Pharmacy Hostage Incident." Associated Content. URL: (http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/282674/geoffrey_harvey_pleads_guilty_to_federal.html)