Market heist thwarted. (Exercising the Right).

Martin McLafferty owns Michigan Market in St. Louis, Missouri. At about 12:30 p.m. on January 14th, two masked men bent on robbery entered the store. When one moved toward McLafferty and pointed a sawed-off shotgun in his face, the store owner quickly brushed the barrel aside with one hand while reaching with the other for a .357 Magnum handgun kept under a counter. Before the startled thug could react to the unexpected resistance, McLafferty fired a single shot that struck the robber, Charles Jackson, in the abdomen.

Jackson and his accomplice, Damon Hayes, ran empty-handed from the store and jumped into a waiting pickup truck that police believe was driven by Hayes' younger brother. According to news accounts, they drove to the residence of one of Jackson's relatives, where authorities later found Jackson and linked him to the attempted robbery. The gravely wounded criminal died later that day. Police also found and arrested Hayes. He has been charged with felony murder (since Jackson died while committing the crime), first-degree robbery, and armed criminal action.