Bagel Cart Fends Off Robbery Attempt
Everyone has heard the old adage “don’t bring a knife to a gun fight,” but until recently no one had offered a satisfactory answer as to what should be brought instead. Clearly the person heading to the gun fight does not have a gun, or they would not have contemplated bringing a knife initially. Luckily for all unarmed gunfighters, the brilliant employees at the appropriately-named Einstein Brothers Bagels in Orlando, Florida have provided a definitive answer. When two would-be robbers walked into Einstein Brothers armed with a shotgun early yesterday morning, one of the employees pushed a bagel cart at the robbers. Sensing impending doom at the sight of the cart full of assorted bagels screaming toward them, the robbers fled.
For whatever reason, armed robbery seems to be popping up with increasing frequency in both the local and national headlines. Armed robbery is classified as aggravated robbery in Tennessee under T.C.A. section 39-13-402, which upgrades a robbery charge to aggravated robbery if a deadly weapon or the appearance or threat of a deadly weapon is used, or if the victim suffers serious bodily injury. Even though a shotgun is clearly no match for a bagel cart, it is still considered a deadly weapon in Tennessee. Thus, the crime detailed above would have been an aggravated robbery in Tennessee had the robbers followed through with their apparent plan to rob the store.
Since the offenders were unable to actually rob the store, they would be charged with attempted aggravated robbery under Tennessee law. Attempt offenses are punished one classification lower than if the offense attempted had been completed. For example, since aggravated robbery is a Class B Felony, attempted aggravated robbery is a Class C Felony, punishable by up to fifteen years in prison and a fine of $10,000.
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