On December 23, 2014, at approximately 8:56 pm, Officer Richard Stewart happened to be at the right place, at the right time. Officer Stewart was on his way to work when he saw two store clerks fighting a suspect at the liquor store located at 1632 Storey Road.

Officer Stewart was in his personal car and pulled into the parking lot to see what was happening. He saw that the two clerks had the suspect on the ground and were wrestling with him.  He hesitated to get involved because he was off duty and in plain clothes, but he heard one of the clerks say the suspect had a gun.  Officer Stewart approached the suspect and saw that he indeed had a gun in his hand and was yelling “ I am going to shoot you” to the clerks.

Officer Stewart was able to grabbed the suspect’s hand that held the gun and pointed it away from the store clerks. The suspect was able to point the gun at Officer Stewart, but Officer Stewart was able to stick his finger in behind the trigger so the suspect could not fire the gun. During this time, the suspect was trying to pull the trigger while the handgun was pointed at Officer Stewart’s chest. In the struggle with the gun, Officer Stewart was able to reach down with his other hand and hit the release for the revolvers cylinder. By doing this, Officer Stewart was able dump the bullet rounds out on the ground while the gun was still in the suspect’s hand.

Officer Stewart was able to hold the suspect down until uniformed officers arrived.  Officer Stewart was taken to the emergency room and treated for injuries he received on both hands during the struggle with the suspect over the gun. The suspect received injury to one of his eyes and was taken to Parkland Memorial Hospital for treatment.

Once released from PMH, the suspect was arrested for Felony Theft, Aggravated Assault on Public Servant, Unlawful Possession of a Firearm by a Felon, Possession of Methamphetamine, and Unauthorized Use of a Motor Vehicle. Officer Stewart was very shaken up, but otherwise will be ok.

Due to Officer Stewart being aware of his surroundings and his quick action to respond, a dangerous suspect was taken into custody.

Carlos Lemos