Store Owner Shoots Holdup Suspect

A former San Diego police officer shot and critically wounded a 19-year-old who reportedly tried to rob his 7-Eleven store at knifepoint Tuesday morning, police said.

Police said store owner Richard Simmons, 51, was stocking shelves at his store on Fairmount Avenue in East San Diego at 3:45 a.m. when a man entered the store and demanded money. As the man was reaching into the cash register, Simmons drew a pistol he kept under the counter and shot Vernus Elvis Barker three times.

Barker was listed in critical condition at Mercy Hospital with two gunshot wounds to the chest and one to the back, police said.

No charges are expected to be filed against Simmons, police said. “At this point, he would be acting within his rights,” said Lt. Douglas Price of the robbery detail.

Simmons joined the San Diego Police Department in August, 1957, and resigned in January, 1965, for health reasons.

Simmons, who bought the 7-Eleven franchise in April, apparently ignored loss prevention guidelines of Southland Corp., 7-Eleven’s parent firm. Although Southland can’t legally forbid managers from keeping firearms in the store, the company strongly discourages the practice, according to Don Cowan, public relations manager for Southland.