Police say a gunman who robbed a Hurst convenience store four times since July attempted a fifth robbery there late Wednesday. This time, it ended with the gunman's death during a shootout with the store's owner, Jahangir Alam of Euless, police said. The robber, who hasn't been identified was found dead behind the H.E.B. Food Mart in the 1600 block of Sotogrande Boulevard. Police said no ID was found on the robber. The robber was shot in the chest, said Hurst Assistant Police Chief Richard Winstanley. Mr. Alam fired four shots during the gunbattle, Assistant Chief Winstanley said, and the robber fired five times. The owner wasn't wounded, but store clerk Danny Valadez of Euless was shot in the lower back and right arm. The clerk was taken to Harris Methodist Fort Worth Hospital and was in good condition Thursday, officials said. "They knew who he was when he walked in the store," Assistant Chief Winstanley said. The gunman ran after he was shot and collapsed near a fence behind the store, police said. Police think the same man was armed on July 12 when he entered the store and stole money and Mr. Alam's gun. The gunman, police said, returned Dec. 22, Jan 5 and Jan 9, using the owner's weapon in all these robberies. Police set up surveillance equipment at the store Jan. 8-27 but there were no holdups, he said. But about 11 p.m. Wednesday the robber returned. "It was the same MO," Assistant Chief Winstanley said. "It got to the point where the owner knew what to expect." The case will be sent to the Tarrant County district attorney's office for review, Assistant Chief Winstanley said.

Submitted on 02/03/2006

Submitted by: Carl Staffel
Reference: Dallas Morning News - 2-3-2006

Copyright © 2006 DarwinAwards.com

James said:
Neutral: Darwin Award
This walks a FINE line between dumb criminal story and a DA. I will ease up on the self-selection rule and say for the record that the victim exercised self-selection by choosing to rob the same place a fifth time. It takes exceptional stupidity, IMO, to want to do that...especially considering that the victim KNEW the owner had a gun (seeing as he stole it) and should have assumed the owner would have replaced it. Thanks, Carl!

Jack said:
Neutral: Darwin Award
I agree with James. This takes the "stupid criminal" story to a higher level! Thanks for the submission, Carl! And thanks to Mr. Jahangir Alam for helping this duffus to remove his genes from the pool!

Jorge said:
Definitely Toss: Not Amusing

Tracy said:
Neutral: Darwin Award
I'm going with James and Jack - the fact he tried for a 5th time adds a bit of humour

Jason said:
Definitely Keep: Darwin Award
I like James' line of thought here. Four times seems like three times an HM after the first round.

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