Caught On Camera: Victim Lunges At Armed Robber In MWC

Midwest City Police are searching for two suspects involved in at least one violent armed robbery. The suspects got away with thousands of dollars in cash and jewelry on Tuesday.

The robbers were dressed in hoodies and long pants. Their faces were covered in masks. Both of the suspects jumped over the jewelry counter. One shoved the manager, Frank Fipps, into the back room. He held the gun to Fipps’ head.

“I met him right here and there he was right in my face, put the gun right in my eyes,” said Fipps.

In the back room, John Cothern, the goldsmith, was sitting there working. He didn’t know there were two suspects at the time.

“Some guy sticks a gun in my face, and it’s like no,” said Cothern.

The suspect told him to get on the floor, but Cothern refused. Instead, he went into survival mode and lunged at the suspect, grabbing the barrel of the semi-automatic weapon. They went down wrestling.

“I was just holding onto the barrel so that if the shot did go off, it would go off toward the wall or toward the floor, and not into me,” said Cothern.

The first suspect punched Cothern several times, but Cothern still refused to let go. But then he saw the second armed robber, and realized he was outnumbered. Cothern then started negotiating.

“I said, 'You’re already on video for burglary, robbery, armed robbery, assault and battery.' I said, 'You don’t want to add murder to your list,'” said Cothern.

Fipps pressed the silent alarm on the way into the back room and police were already dispatched, but before they could get there, the robbers were already out the back door and gone. The scuffle went on for about three minutes.

From a solid tip, Midwest City Police were able to recover the getaway car. On Thursday, they worked on gathering evidence and fingerprints from the vehicle. They are asking for the public’s help identifying who may have been in the car. There are several obvious marks on it. It’s a white Chevrolet Blazer. There is a worn treble clef sticker on the window of the back right door. The front driver-side light and bumper are damaged. The back also has a faded sticker that says “Commercial Vehicle”.

Anyone with information can contact Midwest City Police Department’s Records Division at (405) 739-1306.