Taking matters into his own hands
May 27 2004 12:00AM By
By MARY KAYE DAVIS
marykaye@register-news.com
BLUFORD Midway Mart owner Bob Buttrum has seen his fair share of shoplifters and people pumping gas, then driving off without paying.
Late Wednesday morning, it happened again.
Around 11:30 a.m., a black Blazer pulled into his gas station/convenience store on Illinois 15 near Markham City Road and a man got out and starting pumping gasoline.
He started acting really suspicious and nervous, Buttrum said. He would look in the windows of the store and then look down. I turned to my friends in the store and said, Boys, I think hes getting ready to steal some gas.
No sooner did he get those words out when he saw the man drop the gas hose and speed out of the parking lot, his vehicle spinning gravel into the air, Buttrum said.
Buttrum called the Jefferson County Sheriffs Department, but was told it didnt have a squad car in the area.
While most store owners probably would have just thrown up their hands, Buttrum and his two friends took a different route; they jumped in their vehicles and chased the man down.
Armed with cell phones and, in Buttrums case, a 9 mm pistol, the three men also sped out of the parking lot and headed south down Markham City Road.
Buttrum said another friend in town, who was standing outside during the chase, estimated the Blazer was traveling about 70 to 90 mph down the road.
The people in the Blazer were throwing things out of the vehicle left and right as they were heading down the road, Buttrum said. Finally, one of Buttrums friends was able to pass the Blazer and blocked it in. Buttrum and the other friend caught up and did the same.
At that point, I got out of my vehicle and let the four guys know I did have a gun, Buttrum said. I really didnt know what I was getting into because I knew one of them also had something in their hand, but I couldnt tell what it was because the windows were all tinted. I ordered the person to put it down, but they were too busy acting crazy, mouthing off and yelling profanity, the business owner said. I called the sheriffs department back and told them I had a gun and I was holding them at bay until someone could arrive.
Buttrum told the vehicles occupants to show what they had in their hands. It turned out to be a cell phone.
The sheriffs department arrested Larry Mitchell, 18, of 3805 Robin Drive, Mt. Vernon, at 2:22 p.m. Wednesday on a charge of theft of services, a sheriffs department spokesman said. His bond was set at $1,000; he posted bond and was released.
The three other occupants in the Blazer have not been charged.
Buttrum said even small thefts can drive a small business into the ground, and he wasnt going to let it happen again.
Most owners just blow stuff like this off, but I cant and I wont, Buttrum said.
The store owner said he makes about $30 to $35 profit a day on gas sales, working a 14-hour day, and he wasnt going to let those profits just drive off.
Im just tired of it, the businessman said. People are running all over small stores. You read in the paper every day that someone drives off without paying for gasoline, but how many times do you read about them catching the person. We just wanted (the thieves) to know that even though were a small store about 10 miles out, were not going to put up with this kind of stuff. Hopefully, people will get the point.
