Laura Stabbert | Democrat Paul Hemmer, behind the counter and ready to serve – and protect.

Gun-wielding pharmacy tech thwarts would-be robber

By Laura Stabbert
JEFFERSONVILLE — May 28, 2010 — “I did what I felt was necessary,” said Paul Hemmer of Jeffersonville regarding the robbery he thwarted the day before.
On Wednesday afternoon Hemmer was working behind the counter of the Jeffersonville Pharmacy when a man wearing a blue jumpsuit and black ski mask walked in holding a baseball bat and demanding, “Give me all the drugs!”
Hemmer, a retired corrections officer, pulled out his gun and told another worker to dial 911.
Hemmer asked the burglar, “Do you really want to do this?” and the burglar turned around and walked out. There was one customer in the store at the time who witnessed the encounter. Everybody was unharmed.
“It happened really quick. I’m glad everybody was safe and nobody was hurt,” Hemmer said.
According to the police report, Deputies from the Sullivan County Sheriff's Office responded to a 911 call of an attempted robbery at approximately 2:45 p.m.
Deputy Eric Briehof of the Sheriff’s K-9 unit found the suspect in his residence at 4726 State Route 52, near Lake Jefferson, and took him into custody.
Deputies have identified the man as 55-year-old Robert Roach of Jeffersonville. He was arraigned before Town of Thompson Judge Martin Miller on a charge of attempted robbery first degree, criminal possession of a weapon fourth degree, and menacing in the second degree.
Roach was sent to the Sullivan County Jail without bail.