Police: Man confronts knife-wielding robber who threatened clerk

Ismael Acevedo said this is one trip to the store that he and his girlfriend won't soon forget.  He explained to FOX 35 how he foiled a robbery, by confronting a knife-wielding man who was threatening a clerk. 

"I just ran inside and ran up to the guy, and grabbed his arm, and grabbed the guy, and tried to get him off the clerk. It's really like kind of like a blur, because it happened so fast. "  

Police say Michael Aguanno grabbed two 12 packs of Coors Lite beer and was walking out of the store without paying. That's when the store clerk ran after him.  Police say, when Aguanno pulled out a knife, Acevedo jumped in to help.

"He went after the clerk with the knife, then he went after me with the knife," Acevedo said.  "I was just trying to keep away from the knife, then I was able to grab his arm and started slamming his arm against the wall.  I just grabbed a rack and started hitting him with it, trying to stop him from getting out, and he just fell to the ground."

Police say Aguanno ran out of the store and jumped in a car with getaway driver Cesar Bahena. Police caught up with the men a few blocks away and arrested them. 

Acevedo's sister, Michelle Acevedo, said when she got the news of what had happened, she was a nervous wreck but not surprised.   "He called me the next morning to tell me about it. I initially thought he was crazy. But, that's just how he is. He never hesitates to help anybody that's in need."

Acevedo, a father of three children, has cuts on his arm and leg, and he tells us his hand is swollen.  He said it was just something he felt he needed to do.  "I know the guy, kind of," he said, "because when I'm at work, I stop there for my coffee. So sometimes I talk with him... I was just trying to help him."