Gun store owner fatally shoots 2 robbers
Mark Vanderberg
By R. Joseph Gelarden
Indianapolis Star/News
INDIANAPOLIS (Sept. 3, 1998) -- Two armed robbers roughed up a
Westside gun shop owner Thursday, then one of them tried to fire a
pistol at him. It didn't fire.
The owner grabbed his hidden .357-caliber Magnum. It did fire.
Staff photo / Mike Fender
WELL PREPARED: 500 Guns owner Joseph Montgomery leaves after the
shooting. He was prepared for trouble, a fellow business owner said.
Bullets struck and killed Leonard Banks Jr., 23, and Marshall Hogan,
22, during their robbery attempt, police said.
No charges have been filed against Joseph R. Montgomery, 56, owner of
500 Guns, 3602 W. 16th St.
Montgomery told police two men came into his store sometime in the
morning and acted like they wanted to buy a gun, said Lt. William M.
Reardon of the Indianapolis Police Department.
"They looked at several, then said they had to leave to get some
money," Reardon said.
Shortly after 11 a.m., the two men came back to the store.
"They said they would take a certain gun. When Montgomery bent over to
get it out of a showcase, one of the customers pulled a pistol from
his pants and disarmed Montgomery," Reardon said.
One of the men took Montgomery's gun. The other, armed with a knife,
shoved the shop owner to the back of the store.
"Then the two robbers told him to drop his pants," Reardon said. "When
he refused, the three men struggled. During the scuffle, the shop
owner was cut on one of his hands, a hole was ripped in his shirt and
his glasses broken."
As Montgomery was shoved again into a tiny bathroom, he grabbed a
.357-caliber Magnum revolver that was hidden in the room.
One of the would-be robbers pointed a pistol at the shop owner, but it
did not fire. Police suspect the gun's safety may have been engaged.
But Montgomery's pistol did work. He fired at the two men, hitting one
in the head and the other in the chest.
Reardon said Montgomery had several guns hidden inside the store for
his use in an emergency. A neighboring businessman confirmed that
Montgomery was prepared for trouble.
"Joe had a plan. I won't tell you what it was, but Joe had a plan,"
said Gary Isterling, 60, a retired city parks department worker who
owns neighboring shops.
"After this, we all will have plans. The hidden cameras will go up;
the buzzers will be installed on the doors," he said.
Neil Thompson, 71, the owner of a building at 3564 W. 16th St., said
he heard the shots and saw a man wearing tan pants running around the
side of the gun shop and down the alley.
"The barber in a neighboring shop said a man came into his shop and
asked for a haircut. When the shots rang out, he raced out the door,"
said Reardon.
"But, at this time, we have no reason to believe he was connected with
the two robbery suspects," he said.
Leah Fox, 17, a worker at a nearby restaurant, said she ran up to the
gun shop when she saw police arrive.
"The one was shot in the head. They both had guns tucked inside their
pants," she said.
Police could not immediately provide addresses for the men who were
killed.
Marion County Jail records show Banks was convicted of possession of
cocaine in June 1996 and placed on probation. He violated that
probation and was jailed for about six weeks last fall.
Hogan was convicted of theft and receiving stolen property and
resisting law enforcement in 1994. He was sentenced to 545 days, but
the sentence was suspended.
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