Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Mike Wilbanks of constrictors.com heads off some bad guys who tried to rob him. Mike is a well known Python and Boa breeder who had some punks try to fob him the other day. Big mistake.

http://newsok.com/

Click here for video

Better not try to take anything from Mike's table at a show! Atta boy Mike!

-----
Boaphile Home
All Original/Boaphile Plastics
The Boa Network

same building. I've been there a couple of times. You can access the pawn shop through the back hallway. I'm sure he was there taking care of the animals when that robbery attempt occurred.
Interesting that he came out with guns blazin'. Cool that it was all caught on that surveillance video.
Way to go, Mike!!

.
-----
Thanks and take care - Joe Rollo
'Tis not the stongest of the species that will eventually survive, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change' Charles Darwin

The world is now a better place =) Bet no one robs his store anymore. We'll see this many times on one of those caught on tape specials.... Jon
-----
1.1.1 breeding pair blue tongue skinks w/ juv. offspring
1.0.0 Juv. Albino Bullfrog
0.0.2 Giant Pixie Frog (one juv. and one adult)
1.1.0 Clawed frogs
1.1.0 Albino Clawed frogs
0.0.1 Superlight juv Sulcatta
0.0.2 Fly river turtles
0.0.2 Savannah Monitors (one pastel)
0.2.0 juv pastel Columbian boas
1.1.0 monster pink pastel columbian boas
1.2.0 Hypo Hog boas
1.0.0 Hypo boa
1.1.0 Hypo boa babies, Poss. DH sunglow
0.2.0 Hypo poss. DH sunglow
1.0.0 Coral albino boa (my baby)
and
1.2.0 Pomeranians (the wifes babies)

GLOCK 'EM DOWN!!! Big ups to you Mike!

That looked like some scary s**t going down there. I'm glad you and all your employee's are safe!!

It's so awesome when the good guy prevails. Here in New Orleans those kind of videos are a regular part of the news, usually with not that good of an outcome. Well actually, not too long ago a bar was getting robbed and the owner came out from the back shooting, shot one of the robbers who was behind the bar at the time, and when he fell down the bar patrons pelted him with bottles and bar stools and finished him off, and it was caught on tape. Also, if Mike's situation would have been here in N.O. those three guys would have been released within hours. Our system here is a joke !! Go Mike !!

n/p
-----
Caden Chapman
slithering.serpents@gmail.com

NP
-----
THERES NO BEAUTY LIKE THE BEAUTY OF A TRUE REDTAIL

.....
-----
Greg Holland
GM HERPS
www.imageevent.com/gmherps
gmherps@sbcglobal.net

That'll teach them.

CLICK ....... CLICK ....... BOOM !!!

TnK

AWESOME! That's great!

Whatcha Gonna Do When BIG MIKE COMES FOR YOU!!!! I am sure it was a scary situation as I have been carjacked myself, but what idiots. CRIME DOESN'T PAY.

Al Brown/Brown's Boas

...that seems like a foolhardy thing to do. Don't get me wrong, I'm relieved for Mike's sake that everything turned out well, but that was an insane risk to take. He easily could have hit his employees with a stray bullet or a ricochet or incited the robbers to return fire indiscriminately or shoot the employees out of fear. His act of vigilanteism had the potential to turn a simple robbery into a slaughter.

I dunno, just wanted to bring up the opposite view. Good for Mike, just a shame he put his employees in such unnecessary danger, especially considering that his business losses would probably have been covered by insurance, assuming he had any.

Do you work for PETA or GreenPeace or something ?
Fragmented vison of world peace .... ?
Foolhardy ?
Vigilante ?
"His"Stray bullet ?
Slaughter ?

Does the phrase "RIGHT TO BEAR ARMS" mean anything to you ?
Defend Yourself,Your Property ?(not call 911)
There were no stray bullets,they "HIT" the targets !
Sadly they missed critical body mass IMO.

Bottomline ......
Mike aint no punk,and they didnt get his milk money

TnK

>>...that seems like a foolhardy thing to do. Don't get me wrong, I'm relieved for Mike's sake that everything turned out well, but that was an insane risk to take. He easily could have hit his employees with a stray bullet or a ricochet or incited the robbers to return fire indiscriminately or shoot the employees out of fear. His act of vigilanteism had the potential to turn a simple robbery into a slaughter.
>>
>>I dunno, just wanted to bring up the opposite view. Good for Mike, just a shame he put his employees in such unnecessary danger, especially considering that his business losses would probably have been covered by insurance, assuming he had any.

CAN I GET A GRATE BIG AMEN ON THAT ONE.

If more people helped to stop this kind of thing it would happen ALOT less.Take it from a locksmith of 14 years who sees houses and businesses broken into EVERY DAY.

I'm not questioning anyone's right to bear arms. Bear arms until your blue in the face, as far as I'm concerned. Go squirrel hunting with 50 cal. I mean, it's your RIGHT, right? You're entitled to it. Doesn't make it a particularly intelligent thing to do though.

By the way, defending your life and defending your property are two different things.

thinking straight. While people do have the right to bear arms, one would expect they would use them with good judgment. Not only was firing a gun dangerous but it also prompted another employee to pick up a gun and start shooting also. Now, I don’t know what other people are thinking but while other people were commenting about thieves learning a lesson I was observing on how many bullets missed their targets and made holes in the windows. As a father of 2 toddlers I have to say that anyone ready and willing to open fire in a closed environment in which more bullets went through the windows then hit their targets is not a place you will find me or my family.

Spending 13 years managing security and having investigated numerous incidents similar to what occurred, the thing we promote the most is to make a mental picture of everything that happens and to give the detailed information to the authorities to deal with. I know that many people may not have faith in their justice system but that is not the point. The point is that fatalities are rare, near none, if you do what is asked. While the outcome did not end with fatalities, the recipe was certainly there. I hope that I don’t offend anyone but as a father I would rather be, where if a situation like such should occur, the people around me will make sound judgments, for their reaction can mean the life of my family.

Just wanted to add one more thing. Based on the business that you run, you should now as to what type of criminals your store may attract. A majority of the people that rob banks are people that will take time to plan out their actions and will act out with more caution. Places such as small jewelry stores, liquor stores and pawn shops are the targets of young people, drug addicts and desperate people; these are the type of people that will fling a gun back carelessly without looking back and pull the trigger when put in a state of panic.

Thanks,
Big V

the robber was pointing the gun at a person, not property.

When a person is set at shooting someone, a gun is held firm and erect. The perpetrator did neither of those, unfortunately Mike did. I think people really need to sit down and think about this. First, 8 shots were fired! When someone shoots 8 continuous times at someone, immobilization is not what the shooter has in mind! That does not even include the number of shots fired by Mike’s worker which could have been the same amount or more! Does anyone think about the number of unaccounted bullets that were fired? Does anyone think that some of those bullets went through the exterior window and could have hit any passer-by? Please research and think about the actions that were taken.

Next, the robber would have left with anywhere between a couple hundred dollars to a few thousand. Banks which have thousands to lose practice a policy of giving robbers what they want…. Hmmm, I wonder why?

According to some logic ther IS NO SAFE TIME to pull a trigger. The simple fact that a firearm is specifically meant to kill would eliminate any "safe" firing time (particularly in a real situation---outside of a range---with real perps). It seem that some defend the right to "bear" arms but not the right to "use" them.

JMO
-----

RULE #1
NEVER point a gun unless you plan on pulling the trigger !

Mike called their bluff and they got Schooled !
Always easy to second guess a situation when you were never remotely involved.When personally involved in such an ordeal ones opinion quickly turns into regret.

More practice on a few beer cans would impove on Customer Service IMO

TnK

>>When a person is set at shooting someone, a gun is held firm and erect. The perpetrator did neither of those, unfortunately Mike did. I think people really need to sit down and think about this. First, 8 shots were fired! When someone shoots 8 continuous times at someone, immobilization is not what the shooter has in mind! That does not even include the number of shots fired by Mike’s worker which could have been the same amount or more! Does anyone think about the number of unaccounted bullets that were fired? Does anyone think that some of those bullets went through the exterior window and could have hit any passer-by? Please research and think about the actions that were taken.
>>
>>Next, the robber would have left with anywhere between a couple hundred dollars to a few thousand. Banks which have thousands to lose practice a policy of giving robbers what they want…. Hmmm, I wonder why?

Banks don't care about people, whether it's their own or otherwise. It's all about the "bottom line" to them. Easier to hire a new "living" employee than get all mired up in a "messy" court battle. Don't ever feel like it's wrong to protect yourself, people today are becoming scared of their own shadow, relying on their cell phones and police protection. We all need to be more pro-active. That's just how I feel.

I have to agree with what Mike said about Monday Morning quarter backing. One of the things I wonder about is how so many people feel strongly about something without ever experiencing anything like it. Mike I understand what you mean about having to be there, for as a working as a police officer and now managing a security company one does not really know how it feels to be in such a heart pumping experience. Though you feel your actions were correct, I can assure you that if you had any risk assessment management training that your reactions would have been different. Just think this for a minute, if one of your stray bullets were to hit a little girl walking outside, I’m sure you would be thinking completely different then you are now, as a matter of fact you would be in jail. The only difference between the current outcome and that which I mentioned is that luckily no little girl was walking by your store at the time of the incident.

Please don’t think that I’m trying to make someone look evil here. Nature has set automatic reaction in all of us in which most of us let those reactions take over in such experiences. However, if you wish to be an effective respondent then you have to train yourself to stop that automatic switch from turning on and train your brain to first think about the best reaction that is going to give you the best possible outcome.

P.S. In regards to DMAC’s comments, please do research as to why banks have their policies before commenting. Please feel free to make comments but at least make the effort to research your opinion. Banks which have been robbed have almost no deaths to account for! That is what you need to wonder about! Most deaths in robbery occur in places were the robber is most likely to walk away with a couple hundred dollars, if that. It is funny that you state to be proactive for that is what they teach you in police academy, and in no way shape or form do they tell you to not defend yourself. You see what you refer to is “reactive” which you state people should respond, not “proactive” which means that you do not only respond but you prepare yourself in advance so that you manage the situation with the best possible results. We did not sit around after training or an incident and say “hey, all went good so there is nothing to say”, we would sit and discuss how the situation could have been handled with even better results; this is what I wished I saw from Mike. This would have at least made me know that Mike learned and grew from the experience and that he would prepare so that if a situation like such would arise again, that action would be more calculated. But to think that everything ended fine and that no one wants to talk about the stray bullets makes me think that if a situation should occur again bullets will again so stray and pierce the windows. Say what you will but NO ONE here will have the same opinion if their child happens to be walking by a store that suddenly goes under fire.

Please remember that numerous children die each year, not because a gun was pointed at them but because a stray bullet was unintentionally sent in their direction.

just a shame he put his employees in such unnecessary danger, especially considering that his business losses would probably have been covered by insurance, assuming he had any.

Who put the employees in danger? Me? or the guy telling them he was going to kill them? I don't understand your logic at all. This kind of logic gets employees hurded to the back and executed. He didn't have a mask, maybe he didn't want witnesses either.

Insurance? Losses covered? I couldn't care less about the money. I felt that the lives of my employees were in danger. They had given him all the cash and he was still waving the gun around.

My manager had ducked out of my line of fire and the bad guy's gun was not pointed at anyone specifically. When I first put the gunman in my sights, I was aware of my manager being in the line of fire and did not take the shot. When he stepped way back and ducked behind some shelves, the shot became safe to take. The shot was safe for my employees and I took it. All of the employees told me after how happy they were that I did that. The girl that started crying just before I fired thought that he was about to kill them all. Monday morning quarterbacking by watching a video is different from standing here while it was happening.

I appreciate the support from most everyone. I felt that my employees were about to be killed. I did what I could to prevent that from happening. At the end of the day all the employees went home to their families and the bad guys are in jail. We have guns to defend ourselves if something like this happens. We used the guns in self defense. I hope it never happens again, but I will defend myself and my employees if it does.

I'll say it again. Atta boy Mike! One of the hazards of owning a business can sometimes be exactly what happened. This could have ended differently. "Pawn shop robbers kill three!" Instead Mike did the best thing, and those crooks will think twice before walking into Mike's store again!

Thankfully, the owner of Mike's business wasn't they guy who sarcastically suggested that anyone hunts squirrels with a 50 Cal Rifle. A 50 Cal is a cool tool to have but not so practical to use. For squirrel hunting a shotgun works a whole lot better. Some of us live in the country and like one of the guys I know who lives out here says, "that's why they invented shotguns and shovels".

Atta boy Mike! Are you hiring? You can be my boss any time.
-----
Boaphile Home
All Original/Boaphile Plastics
The Boa Network

In the final analysis, Mike, you did the right thing--but that is a statement that can only be made in retrospect, one which is predicated on the outcome of the situation having been favorable. It very, very easily could have turned out differently. Any time a weapon is discharged, the variables at play in any scenario enter a whole new realm of uncertainty. Obviously, the way things panned out was the best case scenario, but, apart from the risk of a ricochet, the robbers could have just as easily have panicked or been provoked into killing an employee by the sudden volley of bullets sent their way. Again, thank God they didn't. But still the question remains, which was the bigger risk: a passive response or an active one? That's a hard one to call. Of course, if you had just waited it out passively and, without resistance, complied with the robbers' demands, the employees could possible have been shot anyway. But the active response had just as much if not more risk of resulting in the death of the employees--an act of violence meant to prevent violence that nevertheless might have provoked violence that might never have taken place at all. Mike, now that you've filled in some detail, your decision to fire sounds more like a calculated risk than a kneejerk reaction: the robbers had gotten what they were after, yet they were still making threats. Other factors at work in this (granted, split-second) risk assessment, however, might have been: anger, a fixed and inflexible decision you may (or may not) have made in the past to use your weapon if a situation such as this arose, and a desire to, as you claim in the news clip, "send a message" to thugs who might target your store.

Perhaps my original post was too strongly worded, but this might have been more in response to the congratulatory, WOO-HOO tone of the preceding posts. This was undoubtedly a traumatizing, terrifying and deeply violating experience for Mike and his employees, and, as I've stated, I think Mike acted justly--I'm sure he would not have been able to live with himself if one of his employee had been shot and he had done nothing. I also don't believe he would have been able to comfortably live with himself if one of his employees had been killed by a robber in a hail of bullets provoked by his own shooting, although, I've no doubt the remorse in that situation would have been greatly offset by the rationalization that, he'd "at least taken action" meant to protect his employees.

I agree with Mike when he says that "MOnday quarterbacking" a situation is very different from being in the heat of the moment. Reason tends to fly out the window when the threat of death is looming.

Mike did a great thing, I can't say how many times i see those reality shows of clerks getting shot or killed and it makes me sick. Anyone who goes into a pawn shop waving a gun at innocent people should die in my opinion. Thats traumatic. And you people who argue that what he did is plain wrong..."if he had proper risk assesment?"

Their is no proper risk assesment, theres a criminal waving a gun around at people, i wouldn't have evaluated my risks, i wouldn't have the time or the right thought processing to do that in that situation. Didn't you ever consider mike shooting good assesment? Theres no way of knowing what that robber would have done if given the time, thankfully because mike shot at him know one knows. I would have fired as soon as i had a clear shot. You don't understand how many potential robbers just changed their minds about ever trying to pull a robbery after seeing that video.

And "what if a little girl was in the line of fire?" My god man something like that shouldn't even be dicussed. It didn't happen, there are no "what ifs". You can't play out any scenerio you like when it didn't happen. There was no little girl, or any people for that matter other then the robber in mike's line of fire, maybe he checked out the outside before he fired did you eve ask before you started pluggin in your "what ifs" that hold absolutely no water..

everything he did was legal, end of story.
I whish more people were like mike, if we had more situations ending this way their would be less crime. This country needs more balls.
-----
2.3 Bearded Dragons
1.0 Pastel Ball Pythons (NERD Line)
0.0.1 Water Monitors
1.1 Pastel Red Tailed boa Het. for Albino
1.1 Yellow Ackie Monitors
And Counting...

What an ignorant answer if I ever heard one, and it coming from whom? Like I said before it is real funny for someone to have a “strong” comment on something they never trained for or ever experienced. Why is it so hard for people to actually open their minds and think right, I don’t expect everyone to research everything in depth or have a good thought calculation process but at least make the bit least effort to think a little bit.

If you are willing to step out of your shoes for a moment and open your ears you may learn something, here. Do you know why companies hire security officers and/or off-duty police officers for security services? Is it to catch the bad guys? NO! They are simply there to people honest people honest. Hopefully you will be able to grasp what I’m saying. The line for breaking the law is easy to cross; most people will barely cross that line with a very minimal amount of people going way over. Shooting a person that barely crosses that line is hardly any achievement. Those robbers definitely did not look like stone cold criminals, and may have even been deterred if a security guard was present. Do you really, and I mean really think that Mike sent out a message? He may have sent out a message to those people that barely cross the line but those people are the easiest to deal with. You might as well step on a cockroach in the middle of the floor and leave it there to set an example for the rest, if that is what you see as an accomplishment. But know this, people get desperate everyday and some of those people are hard criminals such as people that spent numerous years in prison that can’t adjust to outside life, the kind of people that WILL shoot. So while you send out a message to the little guys saying you may get shot, the only message you are sending to a real killer is “you better shoot me before I shoot you”. THINK!

Also, what I said about a little girl makes perfect sense for the only thing that could have made a difference in the outcome of the situation could have been the time of day, maybe like after school! AGAIN THINK!

Watching “robberies” on TV does not make you an expert on the matter. If you could only realize that with little training you can learn to identify the signals that people give to determine their actions, you would have a better thought process, just like I was able to determine that someone was going to give an obtuse opinion, on something foreign to them.

"This Country Needs More Balls" I supposed you have had the balls to serve this Country and put yourself in the line of fire? It is very easy for someone to talk smack when that is the most of their balls they have shown.