Ohio Carry Exclusive Interview with the CHL holder who defended himself and his friend during an Akron, OH robbery:

On the evening of March 31st, Josh Pursley and his friend, Justin Lynch, were looking to buy a new PlayStation 4.  They had found a great deal, and had it all set up by their friend, Natasha Brady, who was friends with a third party seller. This deal would never happen, and the events of the evening would change the way they looked at private party sales forever.

Josh had recently been in a car accident and had broken his neck.  His longtime friend, Justin, had been helping him with transportation while he was healing.  When Josh called Justin and told him he found a good deal on a PS4, Justin grabbed his keys and wallet, strapped on his .40 caliber pistol, and went to pick up his friend.  Natasha convinced Josh that they should meet on a side street in front of a few houses, and that both she and the seller would meet them. Initially she had wanted Josh to come into the house, but keeping his situational awareness, Josh refused and said he would not go into someone’s house, that they needed to come out.

Natasha seemed a bit rattled when she saw Josh with Justin in the truck. Josh stated that “she wanted to take the money up front and take it in to [the seller], but I told her no, that he needed to come out to make the deal.” Natasha went around the back of one of the houses to get the seller. 

Out walked Nicholas Miller, the seller, with a bag in his hand with (seemingly) a PS4 box in the bag.  He came out in a hooded sweatshirt with the hood pulled up, but being Ohio and chilly, Josh did not think anything of it.  As soon as Miller handed the bag to Josh, he immediately pulled a pistol from his belt and stuck it in Joshes face, demanding repeatedly for Josh to give him everything he had.

“I was kind of in disbelief, like man, are you serious right now?” Stated Josh about how he felt, and what went through his head when he first saw the firearm. The bag and the box (containing nothing more than a brick) dropped to the ground.  Seeing his friend in trouble, Justin immediately sprang into action.  He drew his pistol and exited the truck in just a few short seconds and from a position of concealment behind the hood of the truck, aimed his pistol toward Miller, screaming for him to drop his gun. 

Upon seeing the gun, Miller raised his gun in the air and began to back up, screaming at the top of his lungs “it’s fake, it’s fake! It’s just a bb gun! I’m sorry!” This, according to Justin, was the reason Justin did not fire.  The gun was pointed up and he quickly put it on the ground.

“It all happened really fast,” stated Justin. “All I really felt was adrenaline. I saw Josh was in danger and just knew what I had to do.”

With the gun on the ground, and Justin firmly in control of the situation, Justin demanded that Miller get on the ground and wait for the police.  Miller started to put his knee to the ground, then immediately took off running.  Even though he would get away for the moment, Justin felt a wave of relief wash over him, knowing the direct threat was gone.

Justin’s first thought after the Miller incident was, of course, the police.  He had never drawn his weapon before and was worried that he may get in trouble.  He looked to Josh and said, “We have to call the police. I just drew my gun on someone.” Josh got his phone and began calling the police.  The police arrived very quickly after that, as the neighbor witnessed the entire scene and had already called. 

When the police arrived, they all drew their guns on the two boys.  They ordered them to the ground, and Justin was cuffed and put in the back of a cruiser.  Josh began to explain, even showing his phone to show them that he was on the phone with APD and that they were the ones who were almost robbed.  It wasn’t until they saw Miller’s gun on the ground that they started to see that Josh and Justin were the victims.  After speaking with the neighbor, Justin was released.

Natasha was arrested that night for her involvement.  Miller was arrested two days later.  Josh and Justin both said that they learned a lot from that experience.  We asked Justin if there was anything he would have done differently. “I would probably have shot him [Miller] when he had his gun pointed at Josh, “stated Justin.  Even though Miller did comply, and the gun turned out to be a bb gun, had it been a real gun, Miller could just have easily have pulled the trigger and shot both Josh and Justin.  “I realize that now. It scares me,” said Justin.

We asked Josh and Justin if they had any advice they could leave to our members. “Carry a gun.  Or if you can’t carry a gun, take someone who carries with you when doing private sales,” said Josh. They both reiterated the same advice; you should NEVER go to a side street or private setting to do a deal.  Go somewhere public in clear view of people and preferably cameras.  Justin also stated that “Sometimes you don’t have time to think, you have to take action. Sometimes you just have to protect yourself.”

 

The good guys went home safe; the bad guys went to jail.  Everything worked out great, however had Justin not been carrying his firearm, and not had the ability to defend both himself and Josh, things could have worked out VERY differently.  There are definitely a few lessons to learn here.

 

1.      CARRY, CARRY, and CARRY!

2.      Take a friend with you when doing a private deal.  Two sets of eyes are better than one.

3.      Never meet at a private or secluded location.  Make it public.

4.      Have a plan in mind for what you will do if things go south.  Map out exit points, and stay vigilant.  Always keep your situational awareness.