Few establishments evoke the sense of down-home serenity one gets by walking into a bakery. But unfortunately for anyone foolish enough to believe robbing a bakery will be a piece of cake, many bakery employees and owners are firearm owners as well. Here are four stories of criminals who came looking for dough—and wound up getting burned.
A man armed with a knife approached Wanda Petty in the Merita Bread Bakery Outlet and demanded money from the business owner. Petty's husband, James, was working in a back room when the commotion started. When the would-be bandit heard James Petty in the store, he ran toward him. Petty then shot the suspect twice with his handgun. The suspect, Larry Thomas Young, was charged with attempted aggravated robbery, aggravated assault and violation of parole. (News Sentinel, Knoxville, Tenn., 2/23/2003)
As Mrs. Sarah Edmondson, 55, was walking to work at a bakery in Baltimore, Md., at 5:30 a.m., a young thug punched her in the face and stomach and knocked her to the street. "You know what I want!" he said. What he got was a .32-cal. pistol bullet in the neck from a handgun that Mrs. Edmondson yanked out of her handbag. Police followed a trail of blood and arrested a 26-year-old suspect. (News-American, Baltimore, Md., 6/1/1969)
A length of clothesline slung from a tree down through a skylight let a young burglar into Sipos Bakery in Perth Amboy, N.J. A pistol in the hand of owner George Sipos, 30, routed him out from behind a showcase and held him for arrest. Police Chief Paul Jankovich plans to commend Sipos for apprehending the burglar. (The Evening News, Perth Amboy, N.J., 12/1/1967)
Edward Visnaw, Portland, Ore., bakery owner, was tallying the day's receipts when he heard a knock on the door. He was confronted by a man who flashed what seemed to be a badge. The man said he was a detective and had a tip that the bakery was to be robbed. The man said he would return to the police car and radio for another car. Visnaw became suspicious because of the man's youth and slipped a revolver into his pocket. When the "detective" returned, he told Visnaw to lock the door. As Visnaw did so the man hit him several times over the head with a blackjack. Warding off the blows, the baker pulled out his revolver and shot his assailant dead. (Oregon Journal, Portland, Ore., 11/1/1963)
