Mauldin Man Charged in Armed Robbery

A man is in jail after he tried to rob another man — and was subsequently shot by the alleged victim — in the parking lot of the BI-LO store in Mauldin, police said.

Ansel Leedale Smith, Jr., 24, of Mauldin faces charges of armed robbery, possessing a weapon while committing a violent crime, and pointing and presenting a firearm, stemming from an incident that occurred Sunday afternoon at the BI-LO at 207 West Butler Road, according to Mauldin Police Det. Benjamin Ford.

According to Ford, the unidentified victim met with Smith in the store parking lot around 2 p.m. Sunday in response to a Craigslist ad for a cellphone the victim was attempting to sell.

Ford said Smith got into the alleged victim's pickup truck, brandished a .380-caliber handgun, and then robbed him at gunpoint, taking the phone, the victim's wallet, and all his money. 

Following the alleged robbery, the suspect went to get back into his own vehicle and leave, Ford said. But the incident was far from over.

"While [the suspect] was doing that, the victim took the chance and pulled his own gun and shot the suspect," Ford told Patch. "When he started shooting at the suspect, [the suspect] jumped in his car and started driving off in a hurry. But he lost control of his car and ended up hitting the corner of the Little Caesar's building there on the corner."

Ford said the suspect then fled the car on foot.

"We actually found him walking near or behind the CVS [pharmacy]," Ford said. "When we found him, we did not know all that had happened. We just knew we had found a bloody man walking around with a couple of gunshot wounds."

The alleged victim, Ford said, had shot Smith with a .25-caliber handgun, grazing his side, and also grazing the side of his head.

Ford said that police eventually determined that Smith was the armed robbery suspect during questioning while he was being treated at a local hospital.

"We interviewed the victim and he said he did fire back at the suspect while the robbery was still going on and the suspect was trying to leave," Ford said.

The alleged victim, Ford said, has not been charged in the incident. "He was defending himself," he said. Ford added the victim was shaken by the incident. "He's having a time with it," he said. "It took an emotional toll on him."

The suspect was released from the hospital Sunday and later charged and booked into the Greenville County Detention Center, where he remained Monday night on a $150,000 bond.

"It took us awhile to sort it all out, but that's what we eventually came up with," Ford said. "That was a wild day."

Ford said that the alleged victim was within his rights to defend himself, but he cautioned others in a similar situation to be extremely careful.

"I would tell people that if someone is robbing you, comply and let them leave," Ford said. "That's the best way to keep yourself safe. It's fine to defend yourself, but you'd better be ready. Because if you're defending yourself, you may miss, or you may cause that suspect who's robbing you to shoot you, which they weren't originally going to do. 

"I don't want to encourage people either way," Ford added, "but I certainly don't blame people for protecting themselves. But I'd encourage you that, if you're in danger, to comply and let us catch the bad guys."