EVANSVILLE, IN (WFIE) – A local pastor pulled a gun on a man authorities say was trying to rob a clerk at an east side store.
He was able to hold that man until authorities arrived.
Pastor Carl Sanders tells 14 News he only wanted to buy a Gatorade when he stopped at a local Dollar General store on Friday night. Once he went inside, he got much more than he bargained for.
Authorities say Jermaine Marshall attempted to rob a store clerk at a Dollar General.
Sanders says Marshall appeared to have a gun wrapped in plastic on him.
“He was coming at me saying, ‘Get on the ground,'” said Sanders. “But I couldn’t see what he had.”
Pastor Sanders is able to laugh about it now, but at the time he says he was all business.
“He was telling me to get on the ground,” said Sanders, who decided to fight fire with fire. “That’s when I pulled my weapon and say, ‘No, you get on the ground.'”
Sanders says he told Marshall to put his face on the ground and not to look at him.
“I just told him this is out of love,” said Sanders.
Many are calling him a hero, but Pastor Sanders says he was simply in the right place at the right time. He says he was doing what he had to do.
No one was injured in the attempted robbery.
The pastor hopes this was a learning experience for Marshall.
“He didn’t deserve to be hurt,” said Sanders. “I wanted him to know you can’t do this.”
Sanders stood over Marshall until police arrived.
The weapon Marshall appeared to be holding turned out to be a plastic spoon.