HOUSTON, TEXAS -- A neighbor comes to the rescue of a robbery victim in northwest Houston. Now one suspect is in the hospital, another is under arrest, and a third remains on the loose.

This daring act happened during midday Monday in the parking lot of a check cashing location in the 5600 block of Gessner near Tanner.

This was a wild scene, with the owner of one business, Joe's Food Market, wanting, needing, and ultimately getting life-saving help from the owner of a check cashing facility directly across the street.

The lead flew. At least six shots dented bulletproof glass, and shattering that that wasn't. The owner of Joe's Food Market, 62-year-old Yong Do Cho, had been followed by three suspects in a gray Isuzu as he came from a bank. They shot at him on Clay Road, and he raced three blocks up Gessner to a check cashing facility across from his business where he thought he could get help. He was right.

As he pulled into the parking lot, the three armed hijackers attacked, shooting through his window, only to be met by an armed employee of the check cash business who blasted at them, hitting one.

Don Thresher saw the whole thing from start to finish.

"These boys were firing guns like it was a game," said eyewitness Don Thresher.

One suspect fled in the Isuzu, two others ran away on foot. Both of them were caught. One perpetrator has not yet been identified. The other is 18-year-old Dalton Francis, who was arrested with a gunshot wound as he attempted entry into a neighboring house.

Neighbors here know that this check cash business is a no-nonsense place, with a reputation for shooting bad guys.

"Everybody knows, don't mess with this man," said a neighbor. "You won't even come here and bother with this man, 'cause he don't play that."

It certainly was not a game. The intended victim, the owner of Joe's Food Market, was only slightly injured. The suspect who was shot is reported to be in fair condition. We've still got one perpetrator who is on the loose.

Store owner rescues robbery victim

Originally ran here as:
"Store owner shoots man who fired at him first"
News briefs
Houston Chronical
April 29, 2002

HOUSTON, TEXAS -- A store owner shot and wounded a would-be robber who fired at him outside the shop in northwest Houston on Monday, police said.

Dalton Francis, 17, first shot at Yong Do Cho through his car window at Gessner and Clay shortly after noon, police said, then chased Cho's car into a parking lot in the 5600 block of Gessner.

There Francis shot at the shop owner, Fabern Dale Cossey, who wounded him, police said. Francis and Flenzy Ray Jones, 33, of Houston ran but were arrested in the 10000 block of Tanner, police spokesman Alvin Wright said.

Jones was charged with aggravated robbery with a deadly weapon, police said, and Francis will be similarly charged when he leaves Ben Taub Hospital, where he was in fair condition.

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