Kroger security guard charged after shooting robber

June 26, 2004
Columbus Dispatch

Guard shoots man he says stole groceries
Shot fired into car after fight in Kroger parking lot

A struggle over a shopping cart full of meat led to the shooting of a man by a security guard at a grocery on the Far East Side yesterday.

Early this morning, police charged the security guard in the incident.

The man who was injured was in stable condition at Grant Medical Center with bullet wounds in his right forearm and chest, Columbus police said. They wouldn’t release his name last night.

Police said the security guard told them the man pushed the cart full of food from the Kroger at the corner of Gender and Refugee roads about 6 p.m. without paying for it.

The guard, identified as Roger Loesel, 35, of 6023 Crossgate Place, followed him out and confronted the man as he approached a car with a woman in it who apparently was waiting for him, said police Sgt. James Branam.

"Apparently there was a struggle," he said.

Click on the "Read More..." link below for more.

Michael Williams, who lives on the South Side, was pulling into the parking lot as the two men tussled. At one point the guard was pinned on the ground, said Williams, 23.

The man with the cart managed to get into the car and the woman gunned the engine, but the car apparently wasn’t in gear, Williams said.

The guard yelled at the woman five or six times to turn off the engine, then shattered the passenger window with his nightstick, he said.

The guard then shot into the car, Williams said. Branam said one shot was fired, going into the man’s forearm and chest.

The car sped out of the parking lot, then stopped immediately at Columbus Fire Station 32, a few hundred yards away, where the woman pushed the injured man out the door and took off, Branam said.

The car later was found at a home near the Kroger, detective Chad Williams of the Columbus Police assault squad said. The woman was interviewed by not charged.

Loesel, however, has been charged with felonious assault, detectives said. It’s still unclear if the other man will be charged, police said.

Loesel is expected to be in Franklin County Municipal Court today. Police didn’t detail why he was charged.

The guard was permitted to have a gun on duty, Branam said. As for when it’s appropriate to fire the gun, Branam said, "I would hope they receive training on that."

This Kroger store often uses special-duty Columbus police officers, but not yesterday.

At least one customer in the store was glad to hear the private guards carry guns.

"I like that there’s someone here with a gun to protect people," said Justina Cooper, 23, of Pickerington.

Commentary:
We hope Justina (and more importantly would-be criminals) learns that because of Ohio's new concealed handgun license law, there is an increased likelihood that there will ALWAYS be "someone here with a gun to protect people". That is, unless she is patronizing a business which posts signs ordering these law-abiding citizens to stay away.

There are still several Kroger stores in Ohio which have not removed discriminatory signs banning CHL-holders, and at least some of those are posted out of a misunderstanding about the requirements for businesses with Class D liquor licenses.

In some cases, Kroger employs armed security guards at stores. Several weeks ago, one such guard was assaulted by a robber and sent to the hospital. Now, this guard is being charged with felonious assault.

How many Kroger security guards will be willing to defend customers against violent robbers in the future? Only you can protect you.

NOTE: Several OFCC members have expressed concern that these comments are meant to endorse the actions of this guard. Far from it. If the details of this story are proven in court, this guard should be published to the extent the law requires. The story IS germain to discussions of late, and certainly could discourage guards from taking action in future scenarios in which lives truly are in danger. Thus the observation: only you can protect you.