William Medina, 24, and Robert DeCarr, 18, were armed and masked when they held up Krick’s Korner Market in Reading, Pa., Monday.
WPVI-TV Channel 6 reports that the robbery happened a little after 2 p.m., and that the two gunmen harassed and pointed their weapons at the terrified employees before making their way to their getaway car, driven by 21-year-old Alexander Garcia-Bialek.
The two men were loaded up with lottery tickets, cigarettes and cash, and as they exited the store, they were approached by an armed bystander who had been watching the robbery. He told them to stay where they were and that he was calling the police. All three drew their guns, and Medina and DeCarr were both shot in the chest. Both men were killed.
After questioning the man who shot the alleged robbers, the police released him, determining that he had acted in self-defense with a legally owned weapon. The man will likely not be facing any charges.
A memorial has been set up for the two alleged robbers outside the convenience store they held up, and members of the Medina family are defending Medina in the wake of his death.
“I just want everyone to know he was not a troubled kid,” Medina’s mother Virginia said in an interview with WPVI-TV Channel 6. “The pills or whatever he was on … was practically telling him to do the bad things.”
Medina’s cousin Peter Ratel had a message for the man who shot William Medina.
“If you were that concerned, you really should have just called the cops, and let the cops do their job instead of taking it into your own hands and just killing somebody.”
The driver of the getaway car is now being charged with second degree murder. According to Berks County District Attorney John Adams, Garcia-Bialek is liable for the deaths of his friends due to transferred intent.