However, this time was different, my parents were out and no one was home plus it was getting dark so I dressed at home rather than change at my destination which was a house party for tg's and their admirers. I was asked to stop and get a six pack of beer so I stopped at a store not far from the party. I picked up the beer and was standing at the counter to pay when I heard someone beside me say to the clerk, this is a stick up, give me the money and everyone hit the floor.
After I heard this he laughed so I didn't even look and assumed it was a joke and he knew the clerk. But when I saw the look on the clerk's face I knew it was real. I looked to my right and not more than two feet from me was a guy in a stocking mask and had a gun. He looked at me and yelled to get down sucker as I did as instructed. The clerk had his hands up as the robber flipped open the counter to get behind it to the register.
There was a second clerk behind the counter with his back to us stocking a shelf with whiskey. I found out later that he was hard of hearing and did not hear the robber or see him because his back was to him. When the robber flipped the counter top it banged down hard and it startled the second clerk. I guess he was able to hear the bang of the counter top. The clerk, startled, wheeled around and still had a bottle of whiskey in his hand. The perp thought he was going to hit him with it as I heard two distinct, almost cap like sounds from behind the counter.
I heard the clerk grunt and collapse to the floor. He hit with a thud and I could hear him faintly moaning. While all of this was going on I was laying on the floor watching and listening to this going down. At one point I looked to the door and considered making a run for it but there were three problems with this plan. First I was in heels, which I forgot about and not conducive to running. Second, there was another one covering the door and finally, I might get killed.
The robber then ran by me with the money as the one clerk lay dying and moaning in agony. I ran behind the counter and the poor man had a hole in his chest and I could see his heart beating. It took him about five minutes to die and I hope he was in shock and felt no pain and didn't realize what had happened. He slowly drifted off as the state police arrived. It seems that someone saw this going on and had called them.
The police were given the address instead of the caller saying it was Ridge Liquors. The police assumed it was the row houses a few hundred yards down the street. They originally went to the row houses before they turned around and went to the liquor store. By the time they arrived it was just over and the robbers, five in total were gone. I had to stay and answer questions when I realized I was Donna, I had completely forgotten about it during the incident.
Actually, it was a good thing the police originally went to the wrong place or a likely hostage situation could have developed. Who knows what could have transpired if that was the case. Also, even if I survived I would have to live through the embarrassment of being on the news as Donna.
The police were professional and nothing was said or any funny looks from them. They had me there about a half hour before they said I could leave. Visibly and understandably shaken I now had to figure out what I was going to do. Needless to say I didn't feel like going to a party but I couldn't go home like this. I ended up going to the party, got changed and went home. I knew this wasn't over since I had to testify at a trial a few months from then.
The D.A. had briefed me and knew I was Donna at that time and warned me that their lawyer would bring this up in order to discredit my testimony. I was not looking forward to being grilled by this low life lawyer and bringing up I was dressed as a woman in public at the time of the incident. He did bring it up and I calmly said yes and did not elaborate as per the D.A.'s instructions. The defense attorney tried to trash my character but his was stopped by the judge.
The perp had a stocking on his head so I never saw his face. His lawyer asked me how could I say it was his client when he had a mask on? I sarcastically replied that I didn't recall saying I saw his client's face. He didn't like this and asked the judge to treat me as hostile. The D.A. objected to many of his questions and what he got out of me was the truth, I saw a black man about my height, age and weight with a gun kill a man. It was a slam dunk for the prosecution and I don't recall if their were four or five of them but they all got twenty five years to life. By today, they are either out or dead, with the latter being preferred.
It took me a long time to fully recover from this ordeal and it still haunts me to this day. Not only the horror of the incident but getting caught up in this as Donna. Luckily my family never found out about that part of the situation. It changed my outlook on black people and firearms and will not own a gun after I saw what they can do. I'm not saying I'm a racist, which I'm certainly not, but I expect to get a pass on being naturally cautious about them.
Unfortunately I am no stranger to death. Over the years many family members have passed and I saw a man get murdered in cold blood. As you will read in another story, a good friend was tragically killed in an auto accident. But the strong survive and I have dealt with life's issues as well as anyone. This incident was a definite character builder and changed my outlook to this day on certain things. They easily could have made this into a Law & Order episode with someone really good looking playing my part.
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