San Diego

A suspect in the robbery of a K mart clerk Tuesday was quickly put behind bars thanks to store employees and others who gave chase.

A man walked into the store at 7655 Clairemont Mesa Blvd. at about 10:30 a.m. and purchased gun oil in the sporting goods department, said San Diego police spokesman Bill Robinson. When the clerk opened the cash register, the bandit pointed a .22-caliber handgun at her and robbed her of $65, Robinson said.

The man began to casually walk away, but several store employees, alerted by a warning broadcast over the public address system in code, began to follow him. The bandit ran out of the store and headed south on Convoy Street, pursued by several people, Robinson said.

A passing motorist stopped his car on Ronson Road and attempted to subdue the fleeing robber, witnesses said. The man fired at the motorist, who then got back in his car and drove off, Robinson said. One witness reported that he thought the motorist had been shot, but there have been no reports of anyone with a gunshot wound, according to Robinson.

The chase continued for more than 20 minutes, during which the thief fired at least three more shots in the direction of his pursuers, Robinson said.

In the 8300 block of Clairemont Mesa Boulevard, the man jumped into the open bed of a moving pickup truck, Robinson said. The truck’s driver slammed on his brakes, and the thief jumped from the truck and was tackled by K mart employee Ruben Lopez, Robinson said. Store manager Douglas Dufek and Brian Edward Rice, a passer-by who joined the chase, helped Lopez subdue the robber, Robinson said.

John Allen Davis, a 30-year-old Santee resident, was booked into County Jail downtown on suspicion of armed robbery, assault with a deadly weapon, burglary and possessing a loaded, concealed firearm.