Days after he graduated from high school, Tamon Stapleton committed armed robbery in a Knoxville store. Covering his face with his shirt, Stapleton forced the store clerk to open the cash register. A friend of the store clerk was in the parking lot and saw what was happening. He grabbed his gun and entered the store.
This did not end well for Stapleton.
The 18-year-old was shot in the head about 2:35 a.m. Monday as he cleaned cash with one hand from the register of the Breadbox, 6210 Asheville Highway. In his other hand he held a loaded 9 mm semi-automatic pistol with a round in the chamber ready to fire, according to the Knoxville Police Department.
His mother, Joy Stapleton, claims Tamon was a good kid who lacked common sense. And she wants criminal charges filed against the man who shot her son. She believes he should have called 911 and waited for police to arrive to stop her son from holding the store clerk hostage as he robbed the store.
“Tamon was in the wrong, but that man should have dialed 911,” she said. “He should not have taken the law into his own hands and killed my son. But he wanted to be George Zimmerman.”
H/T: Free Beacon
Knox County Deputy District Attorney General Kyle Hixson said that lethal force is permitted according to Tennessee law in this type of situation.
Tamon Stapleton was on probation when he was killed. It seems that he lacked a lot more than common sense as he had a problem following the law.
Do you carry a handgun? How would you have reacted to witnessing this armed robbery? Please comment below.