STANTON : Store Owner Shoots Suspect in Holdup

A 22-year-old man was shot by a store owner Monday after he allegedly attacked the owner with a 12-inch knife during a holdup, a Sheriff’s Department spokesman said Tuesday.

Alfredo Pena Salgado of Stanton was shot in the mouth about 5:22 p.m. Monday after he allegedly attacked the owner of La Favorita Market, Sheriff’s Lt. Richard J. Olson said.

Enrique Rodriguez, the store’s owner, told deputies that he opened fire on Salgado after the suspect entered his store, jumped over the counter, pulled the knife and threatened to kill him, Olson said.

Rodriguez pulled a .38-caliber handgun from under the counter, backed away from the suspect, and tried to call the Sheriff’s Department. But Salgado continued to move toward Rodriguez, who then fired two shots. Salgado fled the store on foot, Olson said.

When deputies arrived a few minutes later, they noticed bloodstains in the store but found no suspect. Olson said Salgado was arrested a block from the store after a resident dialed 911 to report a man with a gunshot wound to the mouth.

Salgado was taken to UCI Medical Center in Orange for treatment and later booked at Orange County Jail in Santa Ana, where he was held on $250,000 bail. The suspect has been charged with attempted murder and is scheduled to be arraigned today in West Orange County Municipal Court.