Aug 5, 2008 7:06 pm US/Eastern
Step Aside NYC: Vigilante Justice In Jersey, Too!
Husband, Wife Bodega Owners Fight Off Would-Be Robbers Armed With 9-Millimeters With Fists, Pepper Spray
JERSEY CITY (CBS) ―
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Margarita Pena and her husband fought off four would-be robbers inside their bodega with fists and pepper spray, despite looking down the barrel of this 9-millimeter handgun.
CBS
A Jersey City couple who own a bodega were tired of being robbed of their hard-earned cash. So when a group of would-be robbers tried to take their money this past weekend, the husband and wife duo decided to fight back.
The suspects who tried to rob Margarita Pena and her husband should have known better than to mess with this couple.
"My husband fight one and I fight the other one," Margarita Pena said.
The Penas sure fought back in order to protect each other.
"The point is my wife is my life," Tony Pena said.
The pair ran four would-be robbers and a teenager out of their store on Sunday, even as one pointed a 9-millimeter handgun at Margarita.
"One was pointing at me; one was pointing at my husband," she said.
But Tony said one of the attackers came at him moments later, so he hid behind some bottles and cans of soda. Then …he popped up and slugged the guy.
"So I move this side and punched his face," Tony said.
But then, he said, the other armed suspect ordered him to the ground. That's when Margarita pulled out the pepper spray.
"I pepper with my pepper spray again, both of them," she said.
Not only did all of the suspects run out of the store, but the Penas also took down their license plate, helping police catch them.
"If they want to fight, come to my store," Margarita said. "To let them come and take my money just like that … They don't work. They don't do nothing."
Tony wasn't messing around either as he looked straight into CBS 2 HD cameras and, while brandishing a machete, said, "I'm a ready."
Jersey City Mayor Jerramiah Healey said, while the Penas were successful, he does not condone vigilante justice.
"We don't recommend people resist in this fashion," Healey said. "This could have had a much less happy ending."
Despite the mayor's words of caution, Jersey City residents told CBS 2 HD they have no problem with what the Penas did, with some even saying the husband and wife are heroes.
"It took a lot of courage to stand up, especially when they had a gun to her face," Tim Womack said.
Investigators are confident these guys are linked to at least three other robberies.
Police have charged all of the men with aggravated assault and robbery. They say two of the men were out on bail at the time.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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