Here’s a note to all current and perspective armed robbers out there.  If you are going to attempt to rob a store, make sure Martin Richardson is not present at the time, else things may not go according to plan.

Azar Sulman found that out last week when he raided a William Hill bookmakers in Burley, Leeds.  Wielding a fake handgun in an attempt to gather enough money to support his £200-per-week marijuana habit, the 20-year-old criminal threatened to shoot the 280-pound rugby player and demanded that he open the door to help with the getaway.  Richardson did not oblige.

“I wouldn’t normally open the door for anyone anyway, let alone a robber.

“So what if he had a gun? He was very impolite and I don’t take kindly to that.

“He came over towards me and ordered me to open the door. He was pointing the gun in my face and was telling me he would shoot me. He had a bad attitude.

“I saw red and grabbed a chair instead – the rest is a bit of a blur – but I used my judo skills to get him down.” [Sky News]

Richardson, who also happens to be a judo expert, grabbed a chair and attacked Sulman, eventually taking him to the ground where he would sit on him for several minutes until police arrived.  Sulman has since been sentenced to six years in a young offenders’ institute.  As for the have-a-go-hero, Richardson was rewarded £250 from the public purse for his brave act.  Two-Hundred and fifty pounds and the opportunity to beat a man with a chair?  That sounds like anything but an off-day for Martin.

Here is a look at the incident, which was caught on tape by security cameras.

The incident happened early Tuesday morning at around 6:45.  Jones was in his car listening to music when he heard a woman screaming, which caught his attention.

According to Edmonton police, a man had approached a woman in her 50s, demanding she give him her purse and laptop. There was a short struggle and the man ran off with the woman’s belongings.  An unidentified witness took chase, then Jones joined in and they brought the mugger down in an alley, according to the Edmonton Sun.

Jones was the talk of the Eskimos’ practice and had members of the media waiting around for his story of how things went down:

“I’m saying, ‘Is somebody going to stop this guy? Nobody’s going to stop this guy!’…So it was like, ‘Hey KJ, you got to do what you got to do, go ahead and stop him,’ so I ran him down, hit him in the back of the head and he’s behind bars now.

“I had to run him down, I didn’t even get a good stretch in or anything.  I’m mad, I’m like, ‘Why are you out here trying to rob old women who really are trying to make an honest living, going to work?’, and he just laughed.”

The unidentified witness and Jones held down the mugger until police arrived.  No one was hurt during the incident and a 29-year-old man was charged with robbery.

With Edmonton giving up 90 points in their last two games, that is likely the first successful tackle an Eskimos’ defensive back has made in quite some time.  For the sake of their season, hopefully it wont be the last.

Great job Kitwana!

Hat Tip – [TSN.ca]