I just wanted to share a story from one of the local papers. With so
much gang violence in the cities, it's good to chalk one up for the
good guys.

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The Morning Call - Jan 22

An Easton man testified he unholstered his handgun and slipped it into
his coat pocket moments before Maurice T. Cook and Tyrone Wright tried
to rob him at gunpoint.

Robert Pierce Jr. said he became suspicious when Cook, 22, of Easton,
and Wright, 22, of Newark, N.J., who were walking behind him, picked
up their pace and narrowed the gap as all three made their way to S.
11th Street about 5:30 p.m. Dec. 4. Pierce said he didn't know either
man but knew something was wrong when he heard them call out ''Yo,''
or ''Hey.''

Cook, Pierce said, pulled out a handgun, which he pressed to Pierce's
back, then his head, and both men warned him to be quiet and dragged
him a short distance. ''That's when I took the chance and pulled my
gun,'' Pierce testified Friday during a preliminary hearing before
District Judge Michael Koury of Wilson.

Pierce said he fired into the air and Wright ran. Cook returned fire
and, Pierce said, appeared to be positioning himself to shoot him.
Pierce said he aimed for Cook's legs and squeezed off another round.
Cook, who had been shot in the abdomen, took off running. Pierce
yelled to a man who had come out of a nearby market to call for help,
then he walked the short distance to his fiancee's mother's home on
Lehigh Street and told her to call police.

Koury sent all charges against Cook and Wright to county court. Each
man is charged with robbery, aggravated assault and conspiracy to
commit both crimes. Wright also is charged with giving a false name to
police and Cook is charged with two firearms counts. Both remain in
the county jail under $250,000 bail.

Pierce said he had left his fiancee's home on Warren Street and
encountered Pierce and Cook soon after leaving. He said that during
the attempted robbery, he told the two he had nothing to steal. ''They
were telling me to calm down,'' Pierce said. ''Cook was saying he was
gonna shoot me'' and Wright added, ''Yeah, he's gonna shoot you.''

''I decided I was gonna fight back,'' said Pierce, who has a permit to
carry a concealed weapon. He was not charged with a crime.

Easton police officer Robert Weber testified that he was called to
1143 Washington St. for a report of a shooting victim. Weber said Cook
was lying in the foyer of the building, moaning. He said Wright
identified himself as Tyrone Watson and gave several Social Security
numbers and dates of birth. Asked what had happened, Weber said,
Wright said, ''A white guy came out and started shooting'' at him and
Cook.

Detective Daniel Reagan said he interviewed Cook at St. Luke's
Hospital-Fountain Hill, where he underwent surgery for his wound. ''He
didn't know the individual's name,'' Reagan said. ''He said he's a
white boy who hangs around Butler Street.'' Reagan said Cook told him
Pierce ''said something about a female,'' and Cook ''told him to go
on,'' but Pierce pulled out a gun and opened fire as Cook tried to
disarm him.

Police found a .45-caliber handgun on S. 11th Street. Pierce, once at
his fiancee's mother's house, said he unloaded his gun, put it in
plain view and waited for police.