Armed Robbery suspect Matthew A. Hale is stopped by 78 year old security guard Donald Myers.



MUNCIE — Donald Myers let several years of security experience and more than two decades of military training take over Monday afternoon when a masked bandit entered a city pharmacy, waving a gun and screaming at those inside to get on the ground.

Myers, 78, calmly approached the robber from behind and drew his own weapon. "Freeze!" Myers told the bandit. "Drop the gun and get on the floor!"

The robber complied, laying his gun on the floor and allowing Myers to handcuff him until police arrived on scene. Minutes later, an alleged getaway vehicle was pulled over by police; its driver apprehended and jailed.

Police credit the courage displayed by Myers for thwarting the attempted robbery, which occurred around noon at the Royale Pharmacy, 1937 W. Royale Drive. The resulting police investigation led to the arrests of Brian L. Franklin, 23, and Matthew A. Hale, 29, both of Muncie, who are each expected to face a preliminary charge of armed robbery, a Class B felony carrying a standard 10-year prison term, according to Muncie police investigator Jami Brown.

'I knew he meant business' Myers said he and five other Royale Pharmacy employees were in the building when Franklin came into the store just before noon on Monday.

Emergency dispatchers described Franklin as wearing a plaid shirt and blue pants; Myers said Franklin was also wearing gloves and a plastic mask with what looked like dark paint underneath his eyes.

He also had what appeared to be a .38-caliber pistol. "This individual came in, stooped down low and was screaming," Myers said. "He told them to lay down. "With Hale parked outside in the alleged getaway car, Franklin's robbery began to unravel.

"His body was still in the same position, but before I got to him, he started to raise his gun up above the counter so they could see his gun," Myers said. "So I knew he meant business."

That's when Myers, an Army veteran, said he approached Franklin from behind, telling the bandit to drop his gun and get on the floor."I had my weapon pointed right at him," Myers said.



CRIMINAL HISTORYBrian L. Franklin and Matthew A. Hale, both of Muncie, were jailed for their alleged roles in an attempted pharmacy armed robbery Monday afternoon.

Both Franklin, 23, and Hale, 29, have past convictions for theft, according to court records.

Franklin, formerly of Albany, was convicted of theft in April 2006 in Delaware Circuit Court 1. Most recently, in April 2009, Franklin pleaded guilty to possession of marijuana in Hancock County Superior Court 2.

Court records indicate a more violent criminal history for Hale. In July 2002, he was convicted of theft and criminal conversion in Delaware Circuit Court 4. Two months later, he pleaded guilty to criminal recklessness.

In 2006, Hale had two serious charges dismissed against him in local courts. In March, a Delaware Circuit Court 5 jury found Hale not guilty of battery by means of a deadly weapon after he was accused of stabbing another man with a kitchen knife at a Hamilton Township mobile home park. One month later, Hale's charge of battery resulting in injury was dismissed in Muncie City Court.

Both Franklin and Hale were being held without bond Monday at the Delaware County jail.



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