An armed would-be donut shop robber sent off by a bare-handed baker and the baker's tong-throwing wife was identified by the FBI as a suspect in two other robberies.
It was Devon Booker, according to the FBI, who tried baker Jose Sanchez at Winchell’s Donut House in National City on Jan.2.
Sanchez was shot at, pistol whipped and punched. He went up against the gunman with his bare hands and defended the store with whatever he had on the counter to throw.
Turns out he was defending more than the dough.
The man in a tightly cinched hoodie pulled a revolver from his pocket as soon as Sanchez came to the counter to take his order.
Off-balance, the would-be robber fired once, then a second time. Both bullets missed their mark, but one hit an electrical outlet behind some shelving.
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Sanchez retaliated by throwing a large bottle of creamer, then a box of sweetener.
Now angry, the man put the gun to Sanchez's head, but instead of pulling the trigger he punched him, pistol whipped him, then hopped the counter.
Though beaten and bloodied, Sanchez was not finished.
The man with the gun jumped back over the counter, then fell face first on the floor.
It's clear from the video what Sanchez was protecting -- not the cash, but another baker in the back. His wife, Anna.
For good measure, she sent the would-be thief on his way with a final poke from her donut tongs.
Hours after the gunman limped out of the donut shop, Brookes was arrested. The FBI said he admitted to two other robberies in the same area, including a March 2019 robbery at Alpha and Omega Jewelry on Sweetwater Road in National City.
Fernando Perez, owner of Alpha and Omega, was working in the back when one of his employees came to the back asking for help.
“I just grabbed my knife and stood in front of the guy, who had a gun”, Perez explained. He still gets shaken up thinking about that day.
Since the robbery Perez has hired a private security guard for his store.
