Armed Man Demands Money, Clerk Refuses

A Lancaster County woman said she watched in horror as her co-worker had a gun pointed at her in a late-night robbery.

However, that co-worker's reaction was even more surprising.

"I would've just given them the money," said Brenda Hodges, who works at the B and J Mini-Mart on Highway 521 near Kershaw.

That's not what her co-worker did. At about 10 p.m. Wednesday, Hodges said two men walked into the store with their faces covered. She said one had a white towel over his head, the other, a dark hooded sweatshirt.

They came to the register and asked for cigars, Hodges said.

Hodges was just feet from the register, watching while another woman helped the men, she said. She got the cigars and as the register opened, one man pulled a handgun, pointed it at the clerk and demanded all the money, Hodges said. Instead of giving it to them, the clerk said, ‘No.’

“She slammed the register drawer closed and said, ‘You ain't getting my money,'" Hodges said.

At that moment, Hodges said, she thought the cashier would be killed.

“I was scared and terrified because I thought he was going to fire that gun and kill her, right in front of me,” she said.

Instead, Hodges said the cashier hit the panic alarm, and both men ran out the door with nothing, disappearing behind the store.

Lancaster County Sheriff Barry Faile said clerks should always cooperate with someone who's pointing a gun.

“This incident turned out well, but could have easily turned into a shooting incident," Faile said. “At the end of the day, I would rather have to investigate a robbery instead of a murder."

Brian and Jill Sistare own the store and told Eyewitness News the cashier had only been working there about two weeks. They said they instruct all their employees to give robbers what they want.

"As far as money, products, anything they ask for, give it to them, because it's not worth your life," Jill Sistare said.

Sistare said she asked her cashier why she didn't give up the money. The cashier told her that in past jobs, employees were made to pay back stolen money out of their own pockets. Because of that, she said, her instinct was to shut the register drawer, and say no.

“You don't really think about store policies when you have a gun to your face," Sistare said.

No one was hurt, and sheriff's deputies have not made any arrests in the incident. Anyone with information about it is asked to call the sheriff's department at 803-283-4136 or Crime Stoppers at 888-CRIME-SC.