When two robbers accosted two victims in Marion, Iowa, on Tuesday, an armed citizen intervened and held one of the alleged robbers for police.
The Linn County district attorney’s office told KCRG that John R. Barnett, 66, of Burlington, Iowa, and one accomplice assaulted two victims as they were walking into their apartment. An armed citizen who had witnessed the attack stepped in and held Barnett at gunpoint until police arrived. The accomplice escaped with one victim’s wallet. Barnett was charged with second-degree robbery.
Police Sgt. Lance Miller said, “A person has a right to defend themselves, they have a right to defend their property, and if you’re carrying a firearm and you feel threatened and the circumstance dictates, then you certainly have the right to utilize that firearm ... at the end of the day it’s whether or not the person with the firearm feels that their life was threatened.”
