'He Shot My Arm Off!': 80 year old Liquor Store Owner Shoots Armed Robber

80 year old store owner uses a shotgun to stop one of 4 armed robbers - one of them holding an 'assault rifle.'

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https://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/local/man-shot-by-norco-store-owner-in-attempted-robbery-is-denied-house-arrest-request/2973989/

Rasheed DaShawn Lee Belvin, 23, of Los Angeles was wounded in the left arm last month during the alleged attempted holdup at Norco Market & Liquor at 816 Sixth St.

Belvin pleaded not guilty last week to attempted robbery, conspiracy, elder abuse, firearm assault, possession of a loaded stolen firearm, possession of an assault weapon, two counts of receiving stolen property and sentence-enhancing allegations of using a gun during a felony and victimizing a person over 65 years old.

After hearing objections from prosecutors, Riverside County Superior Court Judge Sean Crandell denied the request and ordered that Belvin be held without bail at the Smith Correctional Facility in Banning. His bail was previously set at $500,000.

Belvin's co-defendants -- Davon Anthony Broadus, 24, of Inglewood, Justin Kyle Johnson, 22, of Inglewood, and Jamar Elijah Williams, 26, of Las Vegas -- were arraigned earlier this month on charges of attempted robbery, elder abuse, possession of a stolen firearm, as well as sentence-enhancing allegations of using a gun during a felony and victimizing a person over 65 years old.

Each of the three is being held on $500,000 bail -- Broadus at the Smith Correctional Facility in Banning, Johnson at the Robert Presley Jail in Riverside and Williams at the Byrd Detention Center in Murrieta.

All of the defendants, including Belvin, are slated to appear together for a felony settlement conference on Oct. 7.

According to sheriff's Capt. Mike Koehler, shortly before 3 a.m. on July 31, the four alleged would-be robbers pulled into the parking lot of Norco Market & Liquor, exiting a BMW SUV holding rifles.

"These suspects approached the business entrance ... wearing facial coverings and hoods,'' Koehler said. "Immediately upon entering the business, with the rifles pointed at the ready, an employee inside the business fired a single shot from a shotgun, causing the suspects to flee.''

The store owner, 80-year-old James Craig Cope, told one newspaper that he had "a long gun pointed directly at me,'' referring to Belvin allegedly shouldering an AR-15.

"It was either him or me, and I was a little bit faster,'' Cope said.

"I never thought about it much," said Cope, when asked what it felt like to be called a "local hero." "I think others would have done the same thing had they been in the same circumstance."

Belvin allegedly fled the establishment, screaming, "He shot my arm off!''

Prosecutors alleged the foursome went to Placentia-Linda Hospital in Orange County, where Belvin sought medical treatment.

Placentia police officers were alerted because a gun was involved in the patient's injury, and they discovered Broadus, Johnson and Williams in the SUV, parked outside the hospital, according to the District Attorney's Office.

"They just thought it was some old man down here," Cope said in a previous interview with NBCLA. "I'm sure they didn't expect to be in jail or the hospital today."

The three men, who were not injured, were taken into custody without incident after it was confirmed the BMW had been reported stolen.

"The vehicle was found to contain numerous stolen firearms,'' Koehler said.

The defendants were ultimately turned over to Riverside County sheriff's deputies.

Koehler said that further investigation, relying on security surveillance video from the store, confirmed Cope had opened fire in self defense. He was not injured.

The defendants have no documented prior felony convictions in Riverside County.

"I think they will learn their lesson… but other people should have different thoughts, because it just isn't going to pay off in the long run for them," Cope said.