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Would-be robbers select wrong store

"I shot them before they shot me," the owner says. Police arrest two wounded suspects three blocks from the business.

By BEN MONTGOMERY
Published June 25, 2006

TAMPA - Two men tried to rob a corner store on N 16th Street Friday night. They were not successful.

"I shot them before they shot me," said Khaled Elkhayyat, a soft-spoken man who owns the store and was working behind the counter when the men walked in.

The men police say attempted the stickup - identified as Alphonzo D. Tolbert, 17, and Rossi D. Henry, 18, both of Tampa - darted from the store without any money.

Officer Brian Trlak was responding to a nearby 911 call when he veered and found the wounded suspects at the corner of N 15th and Annie streets, about three blocks from the store.

He arrested them at gunpoint, according to a police report. Both men had been shot.

They were taken to Tampa General Hospital, where they were treated for injuries that weren't life-threatening and turned over to police.

Henry of 15513 Granby Place, who also goes by "Mike Mike," was being held without bail Saturday evening on a charge of felony robbery. Booking information for Tolbert was not available.

Elkhayyat was back at work Saturday morning at Dela Cruz convenience store, 9901 N 16th St., which sells fried food and extra-large T-shirts depicting Al Pacino as "Scarface."

He sold a woman lottery tickets as a man replaced the shattered glass door a few feet away. He said he didn't want to talk about the incident. He was just protecting himself.

A customer suggested he was a hero.

"Thanks," he said.

Ben Montgomery can be reached at bmontgomery@sptimes.com or 813 661-2443.

[Last modified June 25, 2006, 06:26:37]