East Volusia, Florida

From the Daytona Beach News-Journal of November 14, 2006

Restaurateur shoots at robber

A 69-year-old man whose restaurant was recently hit by burglars struggled with a young robber, then shot at the suspect as he bolted away, South Daytona police said Monday.

Ralph Arruzza, owner of Long Doggers on Nova Road did not return a call Monday afternoon. But according to a police report, he tried to fight off his younger attacker -- likely in his early to mid-20s -- as the suspect pointed a gun at him Sunday afternoon.

Arruzza was in the rear parking lot of his business at the 2400 block of south Nova when he noticed two men walking toward his property, police said.

"He really didn't think anything of it until he noticed one of the men duck behind another vehicle in the lot," said South Daytona Lt. Ron Wright. "The guy came back up again and he had a bandanna across his face. He went toward the restaurant owner. "

The suspect grabbed Arruzza by the neck, brandished a pistol and demanded Arruzza's wallet, the report states.

But Arruzza wasn't easily overtaken. While the robber looked away briefly and rifled through the wallet, the restaurant owner wrested the suspect's pistol away, forcing him drop it, Wright said.

At that point Arruzza grabbed a drill he was working with earlier at his truck. He tried to strike the suspect with it, but the man slapped it out of Arruzza's hand.

Reaching for the .22-caliber handgun in his own pocket, Arruzza pointed his weapon at the suspect, the report states. But the stranger took off, plucking up Arruzza'a drill as he ran. Arruzza peeled off three shots at the running suspect, but then his gun jammed, Wright said.

The restaurant owner picked up the robber's weapon, but soon realized the pistol was nothing more than a BB gun made to look like the real thing, Wright said.

In the end, Arruzza recovered his drill because the robber dropped it. But when he looked through his wallet, he was missing $92 in cash, Wright said.