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02-22-2005, 09:06 PM
Posted on Tue, Feb. 22, 2005
Man hurt in pool hall robbery
By DAVID WEISS dweiss@leader.net
EDWARDSVILLE – Confined to his wheelchair, James Lee tried to wrestle a gun from a burly man who stormed a borough pool hall early Monday morning in a robbery attempt.
During the struggle, Lee was struck twice in the head with the weapon. One of the blows caused the gun to fire, launching a bullet into Lee’s head.
The 41-year-old Larksville man was taken to Wilkes-Barre General Hospital for emergency surgery. Police said Lee made it through surgery but remained in the intensive care unit as of Monday afternoon.
The suspect remains at large.
The robbery unfolded around 12:15 a.m. Monday when the armed suspect entered Guys ‘N’ Dolls Billiard Lounge on Wyoming Avenue and ordered eight patrons to drop to the floor and lie face down, police Chief Michael Slusark said.
The suspect demanded money from the clerk and the patrons.
Lee was in his wheelchair and put some cash on a machine for the robber. But the suspect still wanted Lee to drop to the floor.
“He said, ‘I can’t. I’m in the wheelchair,’ ” Slusark said.
That’s when the suspect first struck Lee. The second blow came a short time later.
Slusark said the suspect only got some money from Lee, but never money from the cash register because the clerk said he could not open it without a key.
The suspect fled the hall. Police followed footsteps left in snow by the suspect. They led police to the rear of the nearby Gateway Shopping Center where police believe the suspect entered an awaiting vehicle and fled the scene.
By late Monday morning, Lee’s snow-covered vehicle remained parked in the hall’s lot.
It was a bad sign to Donnie George.
He manages a neighboring beer distributor, Wyoming Valley Beverage, and realized, once he saw the vehicle, that his friend Lee had been the victim of the shooting.
“Jimmy’s one of the easiest-going guys,” said George, who’s known Lee for about three years. Lee sometimes works at the hall. “I like Jimmy. He’s the nicest guy in the world.”
George was relieved to learn Lee had made it through surgery.
“That’s good because I was nervous,” he said.
George said Lee was working at the register during the robbery, but Slusark said Lee was a patron.
Slusark said the suspect is a Hispanic male in his late teens or early 20s, about 5 feet 9 inches tall, well-built, weighing about 220 to 250 pounds. He was wearing a black baseball hat backwards, with a gray camouflage bandana covering his face from the bridge of his nose to his chin, a white t-shirt, a gray hooded sweatshirt and dark blue, baggy pants.
He speaks with a Hispanic accent and had dark eyes.
David Weiss, a Times Leader staff writer, may be reached at 831-7397.
link (http://www.timesleader.com/mld/timesleader/10959327.htm)
Man hurt in pool hall robbery
By DAVID WEISS dweiss@leader.net
EDWARDSVILLE – Confined to his wheelchair, James Lee tried to wrestle a gun from a burly man who stormed a borough pool hall early Monday morning in a robbery attempt.
During the struggle, Lee was struck twice in the head with the weapon. One of the blows caused the gun to fire, launching a bullet into Lee’s head.
The 41-year-old Larksville man was taken to Wilkes-Barre General Hospital for emergency surgery. Police said Lee made it through surgery but remained in the intensive care unit as of Monday afternoon.
The suspect remains at large.
The robbery unfolded around 12:15 a.m. Monday when the armed suspect entered Guys ‘N’ Dolls Billiard Lounge on Wyoming Avenue and ordered eight patrons to drop to the floor and lie face down, police Chief Michael Slusark said.
The suspect demanded money from the clerk and the patrons.
Lee was in his wheelchair and put some cash on a machine for the robber. But the suspect still wanted Lee to drop to the floor.
“He said, ‘I can’t. I’m in the wheelchair,’ ” Slusark said.
That’s when the suspect first struck Lee. The second blow came a short time later.
Slusark said the suspect only got some money from Lee, but never money from the cash register because the clerk said he could not open it without a key.
The suspect fled the hall. Police followed footsteps left in snow by the suspect. They led police to the rear of the nearby Gateway Shopping Center where police believe the suspect entered an awaiting vehicle and fled the scene.
By late Monday morning, Lee’s snow-covered vehicle remained parked in the hall’s lot.
It was a bad sign to Donnie George.
He manages a neighboring beer distributor, Wyoming Valley Beverage, and realized, once he saw the vehicle, that his friend Lee had been the victim of the shooting.
“Jimmy’s one of the easiest-going guys,” said George, who’s known Lee for about three years. Lee sometimes works at the hall. “I like Jimmy. He’s the nicest guy in the world.”
George was relieved to learn Lee had made it through surgery.
“That’s good because I was nervous,” he said.
George said Lee was working at the register during the robbery, but Slusark said Lee was a patron.
Slusark said the suspect is a Hispanic male in his late teens or early 20s, about 5 feet 9 inches tall, well-built, weighing about 220 to 250 pounds. He was wearing a black baseball hat backwards, with a gray camouflage bandana covering his face from the bridge of his nose to his chin, a white t-shirt, a gray hooded sweatshirt and dark blue, baggy pants.
He speaks with a Hispanic accent and had dark eyes.
David Weiss, a Times Leader staff writer, may be reached at 831-7397.
link (http://www.timesleader.com/mld/timesleader/10959327.htm)