Tim Patterson has no doubts he would have pulled the trigger. He's glad he didn't have to. But when a woman is being attacked by a man with a knife, Patterson says he'll do what must be done. “If he had not stopped what he was doing,” he says, his voice fading. “He came very close to dying. Really, really close.” Monday afternoon was another normal day of cooking burgers and fries and hot dogs and Philly cheesesteaks for Tim and Debbie Patterson. Then, about 2 p.m., they heard a scream/Bill Buley, Coeur d'Alene Press. More here.

Question: Is this situation a good argument for carrying weapons?

Five males, including one possibly in his 30s, are wanted in connection with a robbery on Tubbs Hill Monday evening. Three teens told police that they met the five in the East Tubbs Hill parking lot at about 8:30 p.m. and joined them in hiking the hill. The victims told police that they hiked about 200 yards up the hill before they were attacked by the other males and beaten up. The victims reported that the five males talk their wallets and cell phones. According to a police news release, the suspects told their victims that their phones would be waiting for them at the base of the hill. The victims later found their phones where the suspects said they would be. No serious injuries were reported. One of the victims recognized one of the assailants from school.

Question: Have you ever been concerned for your safety while hiking Tubbs Hill?

An arrest has been made in the recent robbery of a clerk at the 7-11 Store in Hayden. At 4:30 p.m. Saturday, Timothy Wesley Allen, 29, of Coeur d'Alene, was taken into custody by Kootenai County sheriff’s Investigators for the robbery that occurred just after 10:00 p.m. on Wednesday, May 11th.  Allen was taken into custody without incident at his residence on Coeur d’Alene Lake Drive. Allen has been booked at the Kootenai County Jail on one charge each of Robbery, Grand Theft and Aggravated Battery. The female victim of the robbery was struck from behind as she walked to her vehicle last Wednesday evening and her purse was taken from her.  The suspect fled on foot, eastbound from the store on Hayden Avenue/Kootenai County Sheriff's Department news release. More here.

Brent Andrews: I interviewed a bank robber once. Student Government Association president at his college. Honor student. Never did anything seriously wrong before. He didn’t know why he robbed the bank. He was just passing this country branch bank, and stopped in and robbed it. He didn’t even need the money, especially. Dye bags exploded in the money bags a couple of miles from the scene and his bank robbing days were soon over. He wished he hadn’t done it. I interviewed him by telephone, while he was in prison. They didn’t keep him long. He didn’t have a gun; he just pretended to have one - thus the shortish sentence. I’ve been searching that story for a takeaway lesson, ever since.

Question: Have you ever been robbed at gunpoint or knife point?

A 53YO man was robbed at 4:38 this morning as he was walking by three men in a vehicle who passed him and stopped at the intersection of Fourth & Garden. Two of the men approached the pedestrian. One said: ”Sorry I have to mess with you” and pushed the victim backward. Then, the robber told the victim, “I want your stuff,” according to police reports. The victim was scared he was going to be beat up and handed over an undisclosed amount of money, and some personnel items. At that point, the robber’s companion told the victim to “run away” or he would be shot. Suspect #3 was the driver of the vehicle, but never came over to the victim/Coeur d’Alene Today. More here.

Question: Are you afraid to walk at night in Coeur d’Alene?

Always nice to start the day with some dumb criminal news:

“A robber at a Hayden pharmacy Monday night got the controlled drug he asked for, and then left money on the counter to pay for it, according to the Kootenai County Sheriff’s Department.

The man went to the prescription counter at Walgreens about 8:45 p.m. and asked the pharmacist for a drug.

When the man was told he needed a prescription, the man told the pharmacist he was robbing her, according to Lt. Stu Miller.

He was given the drug and left money on the counter before exiting the store. There was no mention of a weapon.” More.

Wonder if they’ll charge him with misdemeanor forgetfulness?

At about 10:10 p.m. Thursday, a white male suspect wearing a teal (blue/green) hooded winter ski type coat, a matching teal scarf and blue jeans entered (the Donut Shop, 8671 Government Way/Hayden), brandished a handgun and demanded money. The suspect is described as a white male in his 20’s. He is approximately 6’ tall and has an average build. His pistol was described as a dark colored (black or blued) semi-automatic. The suspect’s face was partially covered with the scarf during the incident/Lt. Kim Edmonson, KCSD. More here. And: Crimestoppers reward information here.