Clerk Fights Off Attempted Heist

A scrappy clerk and a misfiring revolver combined to foil an armed robbery by two bandits at a Ventura liquor store, police said Wednesday.

There were no injuries and no monetary loss in the attempted 11 p.m. heist Tuesday at the House of Spirits, 1783 Victoria Ave.

The attempted robbery began when two masked men walked into the store just before closing, police said.

One man pointed a handgun at the clerk while the other rounded the counter to grab cash from the register.

But the clerk fought off the man trying to take the money, while the second man pulled the trigger of the gun, which didn’t fire and prompted the flustered men to flee, police said.