PLANTATION -- One gunman is dead and another is in critical condition after they tried to rob a sandwich store and were shot by an armed customer Wednesday night, authorities said.
Donicio Arrindell, 22, of North Lauderdale, and Fredrick Gadson, 21, of Fort Lauderdale, entered a Subway restaurant at 1949 N. Pine Island Rd. and demanded money at gunpoint about 11:17 p.m., said Detective Robert Rettig, a police spokesman.
They then attempted to rob the lone customer, John Lovell, 71, of Plantation, by forcing him into the restroom, but Lovell, who was legally armed, pulled his gun and fired, police said.
Arrindell collapsed at the scene, while a police K9 unit found Gadson hiding in a hedge in front of a nearby bank at the Jacaranda Square shopping center, officials said.
Both men were taken to Broward General Medical Center, where Arrindell died.
Gadson was in critical but stable condition, investigators said.
Customer who police say shot Plantation robbers a "Clint Eastwood type," friend says
By Andrew Tran
Sun-Sentinel.com
June 28, 2007, 11:36 AM EDT
PLANTATION -- One gunman is dead and another is in critical condition after they tried to rob a sandwich store and were shot by an armed customer Wednesday night, authorities said.
Donicio Arrindell, 22, of North Lauderdale, and Fredrick Gadson, 21, of Fort Lauderdale, entered a Subway restaurant at 1949 N. Pine Island Rd. and demanded money at gunpoint about 11:17 p.m., said Detective Robert Rettig, a police spokesman.
They then attempted to rob the lone customer, John Lovell, 71, of Plantation, by forcing him into the restroom, but Lovell, who was legally armed, pulled his gun and fired, police said.
Arrindell collapsed at the scene, while a police K9 unit found Gadson hiding in a hedge in front of a nearby bank at the Jacaranda Square shopping center, officials said.
Both men were taken to Broward General Medical Center, where Arrindell died.
Gadson was in critical but stable condition, investigators said.
Police said Lovell appeared to have shot in self-defense.
A man who said he was a friend of Lovell's described him as a "quiet Clint Eastwood-type you don't want to mess with."
"They just happened to pick on the wrong guy at the wrong time," said Wesley White of Yulee, Fla., who said he's known Lovell for 19 years.
Lovell is a former Marine who was a member of the helicopter detail that transported Presidents Kennedy and Johnson, White said. He also was a former Pan-Am and Delta airline pilot who worked out regularly and was in good condition, White said.
"He's also one heck of a shot," White, 50, said.
Lovell has no family or children and is retired, White said.
No one answered the door at Lovell's two-story townhome Thursday, and attempts to reach him by phone were unsuccessful. Reporters and TV cameras were camped out in front of the residence hoping for an interview.
Charges are pending against the surviving suspect, Rettig said. Lovell is not expected to be charged, the spokesman said.
Police have found a handgun used by one of the suspects, Rettig said.
