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Authorities don't know whether they will charge the clerk or the robbery suspect in the St. Petersburg incident.
By MIKE SAEWITZ
© St. Petersburg Times, published March 31, 2001
ST. PETERSBURG -- Wearing a blue scarf that concealed his mouth and nose, the man who entered the Food Max grocery store Friday afternoon headed straight to the counter and pointed a shiny revolver at the clerk.
"I ain't going to shoot nobody . . . I just need the money," he said, according to Cardrick Cason, a customer who was standing at the counter.
The clerk fumbled at the cash register, and the owner quickly came to help, police said. Several shoppers froze and nervously watched from the store's aisles.
As the man grabbed the money from owner Michael Issa and slightly lowered his pistol, the clerk quickly pulled a gun from a drawer behind the counter, Issa said. The suspect shuffled back toward the door as the clerk shot three times, Cason said.
Blood dripped from the man's scarf, said Cason, 18, who dialed police on his cellular phone.
"It was quick," Cason said of the incident. "When he fell, the clerk was still shooting."
Lorenzo Darlington, 20, was taken from the Food Max, 1400 18th Ave. S, about 2:15 p.m. to Bayfront Medical Center, where he was in critical condition Friday night, police and hospital officials said. Police said Darlington was shot at least twice in the upper body. Cason said he saw blood coming from the man's head and rib area.
The police account of the shooting differed slightly from that of Issa and the other witnesses. Police said the clerk shot the man while Issa was opening the register.
It is "too early to tell" whether police will charge Darlington, of 1001 23rd Ave. S, police spokesman George Kajtsa said. He also said authorities didn't know whether any charges would be filed against the clerk.
Issa, whose store also was robbed last week, said police told him they would not charge the clerk, whom he declined to name. Police also did not release the clerk's name.
Issa said he was scared the suspect would shoot.
"That's it?" Issa said the man screamed after he handed him the money.
"Damn it, that's it!" Issa screamed back as seven witnesses looked on.
Issa's three clerks told him that Darlington was the man who robbed the store last week.
"My guys recognized him," said Issa, who did not know how much cash he gave the man. "He had the same voice, same hair sticking out of the side of his scarf. He came in with a machine gun last week. Last time it was so easy for him."
After last week's robbery -- the first since Issa bought the store last year -- Issa moved his gun closer to the register. Issa said he checked with police before putting the gun in the store.
Darlington has been arrested several times on charges of marijuana possession, according to arrest records.
Cason said the clerks were hesitant to call police.
After the shooting, residents talked, teenagers on bikes circled 14th Street S and television cameras set up on 18th Avenue S, while wind blew yellow tape across the parking lot.
Some onlookers said the clerk had the right to shoot the man.
"If someone tries to rob your store, you protect yourself," said Renee Graham. "That's the last time he'll ever do that. I don't think they should charge the clerk."
Others disagreed.
"You don't have the right to take someone's life," said Xavier Hinds, who lives nearby.
"It takes some aim to shoot someone in the head," said LaToyan Jackson. "He didn't have to shoot him in the head."
Issa closed his store and left at 6 p.m. after police questioned him. Issa planned to open the store today.
"We feel sorry for what happened," Issa said. "It was absolutely self-defense. We were fearing for our lives."
- Times staff writer Amy Wimmer contributed to this report.