Father, Son Stop Robbery In Progress At Waterbury Denny's

WATERBURY, CT — Here's some friendly advice to would-be criminals, if Robert Dwyer, 62, is around, don't even think about it. For the second-time in his life, Dwyer, thwarted a crime and this time it was an attempted robbery of the Denny's on Wolcott Street.

Dwyer, who served in the Army, and his son, Robert Dwyer Jr. went to grab a bite to eat after a movie late Tuesday when a man entered the popular eatery and was in the process of robbing the place, WTNH News 8 reports.

When the suspect entered the eatery he ordered customers to get down, the Republican-American reports. The man at first indicated he had a weapon but once he got both his hands on the cash register, Dwyer knew there was no gun and it's at that point his military training kicked into action.

Dwyer and his son went after the suspect, later identified as Ivan Ortega, tackled him, and they all struggled as they exited the restaurant, and all three men fell to the ground and they kept Ortega down until police arrived, News 8 and the Rep-Am report.

Cassandra Ellis, the General Manager of that Denny's, told News 8 that "Mr. Dwyer and his son really stepped in and saved the day for us."

Ortega, 44, is charged with conspiracy to commit first-degree robbery, third-degree assault, carrying a dangerous weapon and criminal mischief, the Republican-American reports. The robbery attempt occurred at 1:30 a.m. Wednesday.

This isn't the first time Dwyer has defused a very difficult situation. While withdrawing money from the ATM several years ago, he was robbed at gunpoint and what did he do? He deployed a military move and blocked the man from pulling on the trigger and took control of his arm. In that instance, a bullet was fired during the struggle and Dwyer with some help from his sons was able to subdue the suspect until police arrived, the Rep-Am reports.

Hopefully, criminals now realize that they shouldn't bother Mr. Dwyer or his sons.

>>>Read More and Watch the Video at WTNH News 8.

>>>Read the full Rep-Am story here.