Media

Lakeland Drug Store Robbery Thwarted By Observant Manager

Release Date: June 27, 2005

Shelby County Sheriff’s Deputies say quick action by a store manager and assistance from a neighboring law enforcement agency thwarted a robbery at a Lakeland drug store last evening.

About 6:15 a man approached a clerk at the Walgreen’s store at 2960 Canada Road at Highway 64. He said he wanted a carton of cigarettes and all the money from the cash register. As the clerk backed away from the cash register, the suspect tried to open the register himself.

As the store manager approached, the unarmed suspect pushed him to floor as he ran out of the store. The man sped away without getting either the cigarettes or the money. However, the manager got a description of the suspect’s 1994 green Oldsmobile 98.

The information was broadcast to area law enforcement agencies. Moments after the broadcast, Fayette County Deputies Rick Childress and Justin Lewis saw the suspect’s car on Clay Pond Road. The officers turned on their blue lights and pulled over the driver and made the stop.

Shelby County Deputies later identified the man as John Scott Umstead, 37, of Oakland, Tennessee. Umstead was charged with attempted robbery. Umstead told Shelby County Deputies he tried to rob the store so he could buy drugs.

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