Despite history of violent robberies, some Family Dollars still posted

Despite a dangerous history of violent robberies, some Family Dollar stores in Ohio still post signs rendering customers defenseless.

The Cincinnati Enquirer is reporting that a notorious Dollar stores robber has been sentenced to 37 years in prison for a spate of violent robberies at Family Dollar stores.

Charles Jackson, 29, was sent to prison Monday for 37 years for the robbery and armed robbery of four different Family Dollar stores and the kidnapping of some of its employees.

According to the Post, Jackson's spree against Family Dollar had many similarities:

• He walked in Oct. 11, 2003, to the Family Dollar Store in Springfield Township at 8:10 p.m. There, he tied up two store employees with dog collars and demanded they give him money from the cash register and store safe. He stole $3,462 and the store's video from its surveillance system;

• He showed a gun Nov. 11, 2003, to employees at the Norwood Family Dollar store, 3845 Montgomery Road, at 8 p.m. He stole $2,100 and the video from the store's surveillance system;

• He also used a gun Dec. 7 to threaten employees at the Kennedy Heights Family Dollar store, 6541 Montgomery Road, in a 7 p.m. incident. He forced employees to open the safe and then tied them up. He stole $1,000 and the video from the store's surveillance system.

• Finally, two days before Christmas, he pulled his most frightening robbery. As a manager at the Roselawn Family Dollar Store, 1860 Seymour Ave., was in the back of the store at about 8 p.m. with his pregnant wife and their three-year-old daughter, Jackson walked in with a gun. He used Velcro straps to tie up store employees and threatened to do the same to the child before being talked into locking her into a store bathroom. Jackson stole $4,000.

The Enquirer story goes on to state that store employees later identified Jackson in a photo lineup, which was evidence that convinced a jury to convict Jackson last month on all of the aggravated robbery, robbery and kidnapping charges against him.

After such an intimate experience with how criminals are undeterred by gun prohibition, why do some stores in this chain still post signs which distriminate against and endanger customers and employees?

The following stores post such signs in Ohio: