Man Holds Up Store; Schnapps Brings Him Down

A man armed with a .44-caliber Magnum, a deer rifle and a double-barrel shotgun barricaded himself inside a drugstore, where he downed 2 1/2 pints of peppermint schnapps and passed out, officials said Tuesday.

After a one-hour standoff Monday, police in this Upper Peninsula community found the 24-year-old man sitting unconscious behind a counter at Putvin Drug Store, a revolver in his lap and a knapsack full of ammunition nearby, public safety director James St. Louis said.

The man allegedly asked to see a revolver at a sporting goods store, loaded it and held up the store, police said. He crossed the street to Putvin’s and ordered everyone out.

St. Louis said he telephoned the gunman, who, at first, was coherent.

“Then, about a half hour later, his speech became slurred and he began to ramble. He had begun drinking schnapps, which the store sells,” St. Louis said.

The gunman’s mother and sister said he passes out quickly when drunk, so police waited.