Sean Quaid was just another Arizona gun owner on Tuesday.
On Wednesday, he became a hero.
Police say Quaid thwarted a bank robbery in north Phoenix on Wednesday by first swiping the keys out of the robbers' getaway vehicle, then shooting one of the thugs who carjacked a pickup truck in the parking lot.
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The robber, Lyndell Cherry, 29, later died at a hospital. His suspected accomplice, Vincent Jones, 21, took off in the carjack victims' truck, but soon hit another vehicle and was captured by cops as he ran away.
Jones later confessed to police that he and Cherry had planned the robbery for more than a week, and had cased the Desert Schools Federal Credit Union at 4619 East Cactus Road for five hours before entering at about 2:30 p.m. with their guns drawn.
Jones admitted he and Cherry ordered six customers to the ground and demanded money from the tellers, court records state.
As they were doing that, though, a witness contacted Quaid, who worked at an adjacent business.
Quaid, court records state, spotted the suspects' vehicle parked and running just outside the credit union, and pulled out the keys.
When the punks went back outside, thinking they were just going to drive away, they realized their car keys were missing and went back in the bank to find them. Police say they emptied a woman's purse, looking for her car key, then exited again.
The robbers saw a man getting out of a Chevrolet Silverado pickup and decided to steal his vehicle. Jones pointed his handgun at the pickup's driver -- and Quaid, apparently standing nearby, drew his own gun from a holster and told the pair to stop.
Cherry turned and aimed at Quaid, who fired his gun.
As the robber fell, the couple in the pickup apparently hopped out. Cherry threw his gun to Jones, who jumped in the pickup and drove off by himself. As mentioned, he didn't get very far. He hit a building, ran a red light, hit a car and then fled on foot, shedding clothes as he ran. Police nabbed him moments later.
We can't tell you much about Quaid yet. A Google search shows a man named Sean Quaid is a jewelry maker from Cave Creek, not far from the north Phoenix area where the robbery went down. We left a message for that Quaid, but haven't heard back. We'll update this post if we learn more.
Jones, court records state, lives with his mother in the 8200 block of West McDowell Road. Police are seeking numerous serious charges against him, including six counts of kidnapping, three counts of armed robbery, one count of aggravated assault, and one count of felony murder for the death of his compadre.
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