Monday, April 14, 2008
Liquor Store owner Pepper Sprays thief
An 18-year-old Lakewood man was arrested for suspicion of aggravated robbery, criminal mischief and unlawful acts after allegedly trying to steal two bottles of vodka from Parti Tyme Liquors, 1608 W. 92nd Ave. in Federal Heights, at 8:43 p.m. Oct. 27. According to the report, the owners magnetically locked the door when they thought the 18-year-old was trying to leave the store with the vodka. The 18-year-old then allegedly threatened to kill the two owners if they didn't let him leave, and punched the front glass door to try to get out, which shattered the door. The owners then pepper sprayed the 18-year-old with mace. Two other unidentified males then tried to get the 18-year-old, one allegedly brandishing a gun. They fled in a brown Jeep Cherokee. The man was taken to St. Anthony North Hospital before going to Federal Heights Police Department, where he allegedly refused to the name the other two males. Cost of the two bottles of vodka is $20. Cost to replace the glass door is $550.
Pepper Spray Inc.
Thursday, April 10, 2008
Clerk saves her life against attacker with pepper spray
PITTSBURGH -- Police in Beechview are investigating a robbery attempt Friday morning
.According to police, a man walked into the Dollar Eagle discount store on Broadway Avenue and tried to rob the clerk.A scuffle ensued with the female clerk, who used pepper spray, police said
According to police, the man fled the scene. A blood trail led police to the corner of the street, where they believe he got into a vehicle
Police said the female clerk suffered serious injuries to her face and was transported to Mercy Hospital. According to police, she was so badly injured that she couldn't give a good description of the robber.
Pepper Spray Inc.
.According to police, a man walked into the Dollar Eagle discount store on Broadway Avenue and tried to rob the clerk.A scuffle ensued with the female clerk, who used pepper spray, police said
According to police, the man fled the scene. A blood trail led police to the corner of the street, where they believe he got into a vehicle
Police said the female clerk suffered serious injuries to her face and was transported to Mercy Hospital. According to police, she was so badly injured that she couldn't give a good description of the robber.
Pepper Spray Inc.
Saturday, April 5, 2008
Trooper Kills Man Who Fled, Used Pepper Spray
CONOVER, N.C. — A state trooper is on administrative leave after authorities said he fatally shot a man who used pepper spray while fleeing the officer.
The Highway Patrol told the Charlotte Observer that trooper J.D. Connors killed 30-year-old Derek Neal Bowman late Thursday night. Authorities said Connors had pulled over Bowman's truck and found a bottle filled with a white substance.
Highway Patrol spokesman Lt. Everett Clendenin said Bowman fled when Connors tried to arrest him. He said Connors later tried to use pepper spray to subdue the man but that Bowman grabbed the spray and used it on the trooper.
Clendenin said Connors then fired at Bowman and killed him.
The 26-year-old trooper has been put on administrative leave with pay while the SBI reviews the shooting.
Thursday, April 3, 2008
Chicago woman wards off attack by using pepper spray
A woman who was attacked as she got out of a cab early Monday morning said her pepper spray saved her from further harm.
Chicago police said they were looking for a man in connection with the attempted sexual assault of a woman in the Lakeview area early Monday morning. The attacker was described as a male white Hispanic, between 25 and 30 years old with short hair combed back and a medium complexion.
NBC5's Anna Davlantes reported that the victim, identified as "Elizabeth," spoke out about the incident, she said in the hopes it would help others. The victim said she used pepper spray to fend off the attacker."I'm like, 'Oh my God!,'" she said. "I start spraying my mace everywhere and he just takes off. So, luckily, thank God, I had that in my hand."
According to an alert from Belmont Area detectives, the woman was walking to her home in the 500 block of West Briar Place about 2 a.m. when a man threw her to the ground and tried to sexually assault her.Elizabeth showed the scrapes and cuts she received after being thrown to the ground by the attacker, but said she knew it could have been much worse.The victim said she left her job at a bar at 2 a.m., got in a cab, and when it pulled away, the man attacked her."He came out of nowhere," Elizabeth said. "All of the sudden, I'm attacked from behind and pushed down."Police said it has been a long time since they have heard of a victim fending off an attack using pepper spray."She was very courageous, and I give her a lot of credit for doing that," said Chicago police Sgt. Debra DeYoung.Elizabeth urged everyone to buy a can of pepper spray and have it at the ready."Go and buy mace," she said. "When you have it, and you get out and you know you're going to be outside alone, physically have it in your hand ready. Because if I hadn't had it ready, it would have been in my bag --what's the use of having it?"
Davlantes reported that police said they hoped someone would have information on the case. There have been attacks in the area with a similar description, but currently, there wasn't enough information to link them.Anyone with information is asked to contact Belmont Area detectives at 312-744-8261.
Pepper Spray Inc.
Chicago police said they were looking for a man in connection with the attempted sexual assault of a woman in the Lakeview area early Monday morning. The attacker was described as a male white Hispanic, between 25 and 30 years old with short hair combed back and a medium complexion.
NBC5's Anna Davlantes reported that the victim, identified as "Elizabeth," spoke out about the incident, she said in the hopes it would help others. The victim said she used pepper spray to fend off the attacker."I'm like, 'Oh my God!,'" she said. "I start spraying my mace everywhere and he just takes off. So, luckily, thank God, I had that in my hand."
According to an alert from Belmont Area detectives, the woman was walking to her home in the 500 block of West Briar Place about 2 a.m. when a man threw her to the ground and tried to sexually assault her.Elizabeth showed the scrapes and cuts she received after being thrown to the ground by the attacker, but said she knew it could have been much worse.The victim said she left her job at a bar at 2 a.m., got in a cab, and when it pulled away, the man attacked her."He came out of nowhere," Elizabeth said. "All of the sudden, I'm attacked from behind and pushed down."Police said it has been a long time since they have heard of a victim fending off an attack using pepper spray."She was very courageous, and I give her a lot of credit for doing that," said Chicago police Sgt. Debra DeYoung.Elizabeth urged everyone to buy a can of pepper spray and have it at the ready."Go and buy mace," she said. "When you have it, and you get out and you know you're going to be outside alone, physically have it in your hand ready. Because if I hadn't had it ready, it would have been in my bag --what's the use of having it?"
Davlantes reported that police said they hoped someone would have information on the case. There have been attacks in the area with a similar description, but currently, there wasn't enough information to link them.Anyone with information is asked to contact Belmont Area detectives at 312-744-8261.
Pepper Spray Inc.
Wednesday, April 2, 2008
Police look for 'cowards' who pepper-sprayed couple
An elderly Lambton couple was peppered sprayed in what police describe as a "cowardly act" of road rage - the second suspected pepper spraying incident in two weeks.
"I don't know how someone could do something like that," said Sharon, 67, one of the victims.
The incident occurred at about midnight Friday, when Sharon was driving home on Highway 40 with her 70-year-old husband, Ted.
During the drive, a car erratically approached from behind and started flashing its lights, police said.
Eventually, Sharon pulled into a driveway just east of the highway hoping the men would leave them alone.
Instead, the men pulled up behind the couple and approached the car. When Sharon opened her window to confront the men, she was pepper-sprayed in the face.
"It's a cowardly, heinous act," said Lambton OPP Const. John Reurink.
"To do something like that is unconscionable and hopefully it will anger the public and they'll contact us."
Tuesday, April 1, 2008
Pepper Spray saves student
A student under attack relied on her wits and pepper spray to escape serious harm. Early Sunday morning, a 21-year-old student said she was attacked in the Fort Sanders neighborhood.
She has since gone home to Nashville with her parents. She asked 10 News not to use her name.
It wasn't long before the attack that the victim began thinking about being prepared to protect herself.
"It was kind of ironic that we had this whole conversation about the pepper spray right before I needed to use it," she said.
The UT student and some friends were chatting about pepper spray as they walked home from a friend's house about 2:30 Sunday morning. She said they headed different directions about 2 blocks from her home.
"I've had the pepper spray since last year when my boyfriend bought it for me after the Channon Christian tragedy," she said.
Channon Christian and Chris Newsom were killed after a car-jacking in Knoxville last January.
This weekend, the UT student said she was very aware of her surroundings as she walked toward home. She noticed a slow moving maroon Pontiac with two men in it.
"They turned around and started driving the wrong way on the one way street, and then I immediately knew they were coming after me," she said.
She ran and tried to hide on a porch. She said the car passenger chased her and cornered her on the porch.
"And I said, 'Don't get any closer. I have pepper spray and i will spray you. Get away from me,'" she told 10 News.
She said he hit her with a rod of some sort, grabbed her by the hair, and yanked her down the porch steps.
"He was dragging me, so I don't even want to think about what would have happened if I hadn't had my pepper spray."
The man ran after she sprayed him.
The victim suffered some minor bruises. Knoxville police are investigating the case as an aggravated assault.
"We'll look at the forensic evidence, and we'll look at the interviews and any kind of composite we get back from the victim and go from there," said Captain Gary Holliday with KPD.
The victim's father sent a letter to Knoxville's police chief, UT police, and Knoxville's mayor. The letter said investigators overlooked evidence at the crime scene and characterized the police response as "ineffective."
Police said they collected the evidence, and it is part of their investigation.
Police are waiting for the victim to return from Nashville to work with a sketch artist to develop a suspect composite.
The victim said she intends to return to class later this week. She said it won't be easy.
"I'm going to be afraid about walking to class even in the broad daylight.
Pepper Spray Inc.
She has since gone home to Nashville with her parents. She asked 10 News not to use her name.
It wasn't long before the attack that the victim began thinking about being prepared to protect herself.
"It was kind of ironic that we had this whole conversation about the pepper spray right before I needed to use it," she said.
The UT student and some friends were chatting about pepper spray as they walked home from a friend's house about 2:30 Sunday morning. She said they headed different directions about 2 blocks from her home.
"I've had the pepper spray since last year when my boyfriend bought it for me after the Channon Christian tragedy," she said.
Channon Christian and Chris Newsom were killed after a car-jacking in Knoxville last January.
This weekend, the UT student said she was very aware of her surroundings as she walked toward home. She noticed a slow moving maroon Pontiac with two men in it.
"They turned around and started driving the wrong way on the one way street, and then I immediately knew they were coming after me," she said.
She ran and tried to hide on a porch. She said the car passenger chased her and cornered her on the porch.
"And I said, 'Don't get any closer. I have pepper spray and i will spray you. Get away from me,'" she told 10 News.
She said he hit her with a rod of some sort, grabbed her by the hair, and yanked her down the porch steps.
"He was dragging me, so I don't even want to think about what would have happened if I hadn't had my pepper spray."
The man ran after she sprayed him.
The victim suffered some minor bruises. Knoxville police are investigating the case as an aggravated assault.
"We'll look at the forensic evidence, and we'll look at the interviews and any kind of composite we get back from the victim and go from there," said Captain Gary Holliday with KPD.
The victim's father sent a letter to Knoxville's police chief, UT police, and Knoxville's mayor. The letter said investigators overlooked evidence at the crime scene and characterized the police response as "ineffective."
Police said they collected the evidence, and it is part of their investigation.
Police are waiting for the victim to return from Nashville to work with a sketch artist to develop a suspect composite.
The victim said she intends to return to class later this week. She said it won't be easy.
"I'm going to be afraid about walking to class even in the broad daylight.
Pepper Spray Inc.
Monday, March 31, 2008
BEAR ATTACKS & the VALUE of PEPPER SPRAY
I was attacked by a black bear (trash bear) last summer in Yosemite. I can tell you that pepper spray works and saved my arse. I believe that I owe my life to pepper spray. Sure, it's not foolproof and as they say its not 'brains in a can' but it beats trying to fight him with your bare hands.
Carry it ready to go on your hip in a holster - mine is from the UDAP company. It points forward so it can even be fired from the hip without taking it out. I like shotguns but the rangers in National Parks aren't keen on them and they're too heavy. Save the Mossberg for turkey season.
I believe that black bears anywhere are not much of a threat. I've had two encounters with them while hiking here in Colorado, including surprising a sow and cub, and in both instances the bears simply moved on, unconcerned about me. I have also come home to find one bear destroying my gas grill (I live in the mountains) which ran away when I yelled at it.
That said, black bears in the Sierras, especially Yosemite and Mt. Whitney National parks, are an entirely different story. They are completely habituated to humans and human food and show no fear whatsoever of us. I think it's foolish to camp in the backcountry of these areas without carrying pepper spray.
THE STORY
We were camped a few miles from Little Yosemite Valley when my friend and I were awakened in the middle of the night by a bear getting into our food, which had been counterbalanced in a nearby tree (our first mistake - we should have been using canisters because nothing else works). It was sitting on the branch literally pulling up the bags of food by pulling the rope hand, er, paw over paw. We tried everything to scare it away - yelling, throwing rocks, shining flashlights in its eyes. The bear, which had a red tag in it's ear signifying it was a problem bear, ignored us the whole time. I guess I got pissed off and had the bright idea to hit the food bags with a rock to knock them off the branch. At that point, the bear turned and hissed (like a cat) at us and promptly ran down the tree hitting the ground running at us.
I managed to spray the bear, hitting it square in the face at 6 feet in full charge. He was repelled instantly, retreated about 10 feet, charged again and was stopped again when I sprayed him in the face.
But, wait, there's more! We retrieved the food, got back to camp and started a big fire. Why? That bear wouldn't leave the area, pacing back and forth at about 50 feet from us. Also, probably due to the commotion we had created, we began hearing noises elsewhere in the woods surrounding us. Shining our flashlights into the woods we counted three other bears, all within 50 feet. Two of them even began fighting one another, presumably over the rights to our food. At that point, another frightened camper came running up the trail warning us about three bears that had just raided his site. Admitting defeat, we packed up camp and the three of us hiked for three hours in the middle of the night by flashlight to escape. And, yes, we were followed by them for part of the way.
We made it to Tuolomne Meadows the next day and rented canisters. We also told the story to a ranger who indicated (in a roundabout way) that that bear would have to be destroyed. Later on that same trip, I talked to a ranger near Red's Meadow who said a woman was attacked in her tent. I also talked to many other campers who had bears in their camps going after their food. Several of them were using Ursacks which proved useless against those bears. I know this was one extreme encounter and this isn't meant to scare anyone away from Yosemite or to exaggerate the chances of a bear encounter there, but this is definitely one neck of the woods you should consider bringing along some pepper spray and using a food canister (which is going to be required now to get a backcountry permit).
So there you have it! By the way, if you should ever have to spray a bear, move well way, even if it's in the middle of the night. If it comes back, the bear spray is likely to have less effect on it.
Thanks for letting me tell my story!
Scott
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