Sanitation worker subdues robbery suspect at 7-Eleven in Manhattan
NEW YORK (WABC) -- A New York City sanitation worker thwarted an apparent robbery attempt Tuesday at a 7-Eleven store in Manhattan.
Curtis Jackson was taking a break from his Sanitation Department job early Tuesday morning, when he watched a man approach the front counter of a convenience store and demand money from the cashier.
"I noticed a gentleman with his hand, at first; I didn't know what it was. I saw him just like this pointing what appeared to be a weapon at the cashier. I thought it was a weapon, I thought it was a gun," Jackson said.
Without so much as a second to think, the 44-year-old quickly and quietly weaved through the 7-Eleven's aisles and snuck up behind the would be thief.
"I just crept down, came this way, and I walked and I saw him and I ran up on him and I just grabbed what I thought was the weapon and shook it away," Jackson said.
The suspect didn't have a gun, just a tube of lip balm and a card in his hand.
Still, this Bushwick, Brooklyn hero didn't take any chances, instead using his training as a former Marine to hold him down until police arrived inside the at the corner of 23rd and Park.
"I just wanted to stop what was going on. I didn't want to get shot. I didn't want my partner to get shot. I didn't want the cashier to get shot. I just wanted everyone to go home safe," Jackson said. "I don't feel like a hero, I just feel like I did something that should have been done."
In spite of a struggle, Jackson held the suspect down until officers arrived.
The suspect, Nicholas Mecina, faces a robbery and a weapon charge.
Police say he's homeless and has a lengthy criminal record.
And since everything turned out well in the end, Jackson is hoping his good luck will continue with a full-time Sanitation Department position, and maybe a wife and kids too!
Wednesday, after this story aired, he was dealing with his new found fame and getting back to doing a great job for the Sanitation Department.
