Security video shows store owner battling armed robber in Venice

Video from a security camera inside a Venice Beach market shows a violent struggle between a would-be armed robber and the store’s owner.

In the video, a gunman wearing a hoodie that conceals most of his face walks into Simons Market on Lincoln Boulevard about 7 p.m. Monday, draws a silver handgun and points it at the clerk behind the counter. Store owner Simon Mellor stands just a few feet from the gunman.

“He said, ‘Give me the money in the register,’” Mellor told KTLA-TV. “He seemed not to be concerned with me even being here, and I — tried to take him down.”

The video shows Mellor walking behind the would-be robber, putting him in a sort of full nelson wrestling hold and swinging him away from the clerk and toward the front door.

The men wrestle on their feet and move outside the store. The robber, still holding his gun, swings the pistol wildly toward cars and down the sidewalk as he struggles to regain control. Mellor holds the man’s right hand, keeping the pistol pointed away from him. Suddenly, the robber pulls a second handgun from his jacket.

Instead of using the weapon though, the gunman breaks free and runs off, the video shows. Mellor then walks back into the store while his employee calls police.

Mellor told KTLA that he knows police say that people should always cooperate during robberies, but he doesn’t regret what he did.

“Perhaps foolish. Sorry, I apologize, [but] I felt I did the right thing,” Mellor told the TV station. “I work hard for the business. Don’t come take my stuff.”

Joseph.serna@latimes.com

For breaking California news, follow @JosephSerna on Twitter.

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