Store owner arrested for shooting at shoplifters
WILTON MANORS, Fla. (WSVN) -- The co-owner of a liquor store is facing multiple charges after he reportedly opened fire on a group of men who attempted to rob his business Wednesday.
Police said that around 10 p.m. Wednesday, Harold Loffman and his friends rushed into Paradise Fine Wines And Spirits, located off Andrews Avenue and West Oakland Park Boulevard, and attempted to loot the establishment. Noticing members of the group trying to shoplift several bottles of gin, clerk and co-owner James C. Regis opened fire on the subjects as the suspected would-be thieves made their getaway. With his store's glass front door shattered in the hail of gunfire, the business' determined co-owner exited his liquor store in pursuit of the alleged shoplifters, firing his pistol along the way. Not a single bullet connected with its intended targets.
Under Florida law, the initial shots taken by Regis while inside his store were legal, but those made outside of his business while chasing the alleged thieves were not. Police subsequently arrested the co-owner, charging him with agrravated assault and discharging a firearm in public.
Perplexed by Regis' arrest, a female business associate contends that the instinctive nature of the shooting justified the attack. "He is protecting his own things," said a fellow co-owner of the liquor store. "When people are scared, they are just trying to protect their investment."
Asked if she would have re-acted similarly to such crime, the woman said, "Of course, because you are protecting your own property."
Authorities apprehended Loffman and discovered a knife in the suspected would-be thief's possession. Officer's charged him with retail theft.
Store manager's boarded up the business' front door and opened briefly Thursday.
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