Armed Suspect Taken Down During Standoff with Flying Cans of Baked Beans
It’s always so satisfying to watch a bad guy get caught. I mean, that’s the foundation of all action storylines.
The bad guys do something bad, the heroes hear about it, a tense fight scene ensues, and normally “the good guys always win.”
A scene in a Florida grocery store definitely follows this outline, but the way the hero took down the bad guy might surprise you.
On May 31, 2018, reports came in of an armed robbery at a Rainbow Store.
Once deputies arrived, however, they learned that the suspect did not have a gun, but instead was armed with a hammer … that he was pointing at people like a gun.
Bay County Sheriff’s Maj. Jimmy Stanford said, “We quickly realized that he wasn’t holding a gun but weren’t sure if he had a firearm on him.”
Even though the suspect did not have a gun, he had threatened to kill people inside of the store.
As the deputies approached the door from the outside he swung the hammer toward them before running toward the back of the store.
While the suspect continued to swing the hammer at the other two officers, Maj. Stanford positioned himself behind the suspect. Maj. Stanford was hoping to seize the man while he was distracted, but the man soon realized the deputy was behind him.
That’s when Maj. Stanford noticed something that could help him, something that he said was “meant to be”: canned goods.
While unconventional, he knew that the cans would be the perfect distraction. So Maj. Stanford grabbed two cans of Bush’s Extra Brown Sugar Baked Beans and threw them at the suspect.
It gave the three deputies just enough cover to successfully apprehend the man.
The suspect, later identified as Justin Stanford, was taken to the hospital for his injuries and is now facing charges of assault, assault with a deadly weapon on a law enforcement officer, and resisting arrest.
Thanks in large part to Maj. Stanford’s quick thinking (and his accurate can-throwing abilities) the suspect is no longer posing a threat to others and is in jail waiting for his trial.
Maj. Stanford said, “I didn’t want anyone to get hurt. It seemed like the best thing to do in that moment.”
It just goes to show that you should never underestimate the power of a can of Bush’s Baked Beans.
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