89-Year-Old Florida War Vet Stands His Ground

The 89-year-old man behind the counter at Lake Park’s The Jewelry Exchange might have looked like an easy mark, but a would-be robber found out Saturday he’s anything but.

When an armed robber came into the store around 3 p.m., Arthur M. Lewis was up to the challenge. The jeweler grabbed his attacker’s gun and pulled out his own, the Palm Beach Post reported. The two wrestled for a bit, firing shots at each other, but when the smoke cleared it was the robber on the ground with four shots to the chest and two other bullet wounds.

Lewis, the paper reported, was grazed by a bullet on his arm, but was otherwise OK.

Although hit, the robber was able to get up and flee the store, prompting a manhunt, according to the Sun-Sentinel.

The man was eventually caught when his getaway driver sought help from the Boca Raton Police Department in getting him to a hospital for treatment.

The would-be robber was taken to Delray Medical Center. The driver, Raven Simone Hill, 23, was booked into jail on a charge of armed robbery for driving the getaway car, the Post reported.

That robber has been identified as Lennard Patrick Jarvis, 44. He faces felony charges once he’s released from the hospital.

Lewis, an army vet who served in the Pacific Theatre, isn’t the only Floridian to stand his ground recently. On Sunday, Melchisedec Williams, 50, of Tampa shot an armed teen who broke into his Tampa home. The intruder turned out to be Williams’ own nephew. The teen, armed with a knife, failed to identify himself to the legally blind man, who was in fear for his safety, Tampa police said.

Check out the Palm Beach Post’s full story on Lewis.

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