Machete-wielding robber thwarted by Happy Valley clerk

Photo by Michael Woodward

INTEROGATION: Rodney Pearson, 40, sits in custody after a failing to rob the Happy Valley Market with a machete.

Photo by Michael Woodward

WEAPON: Deputy Ray Hughes carries a large machete used by in an alleged robbery of the Happy Valley Market.

Rodney Pearson, 40, of the Happy Valley area entered the Happy Valley Market, 6644 Happy Valley Rd., and chopped at the counter with a two-foot machete demanding a pack of cigarettes on Monday, 11:30 a.m., according to Sergeant Jason Barnhart.

Delivery drivers Gary Faulkenbury and David Lane warned the store owner that trouble was coming after they had passed Pearson on the road.

"We saw the guy walking down the road, yelling and waving a machete around," said Faulkenbury. "We told (the store owner) to call the police. There's trouble coming."

According to bystanders Faulkenbury and Lane, Pearson then took a Jack Daniels hat from a stand and demanded a clerk take off his hat and glasses. Afterward, Pearson left the machete on the counter and walked elsewhere within the store. Store owner Santokh Ghag seized the moment and took the machete off the counter.

"Then he (Pearson) ran out screaming that he (the clerk) has a knife," Lane said.

According to Ghag, Pearson threatened his store in a similar fashion the year before.

Deputies located and arrested Pearson in a open lot across the street from the store, Barnhart said, adding that the investigation was ongoing as to Pearson's state of mind during the incident.

No one was injured, and whether Pearson exited the store with any items was still under investigation.