drug store robbery

ROBBERY IN PROGRESS

A scrappy senior is being hailed a hero for being able to cane two crooks, one of whom was wielding a knife, and put an end to a drugstore robbery in Oshawa.

It was a situation that would leave most 64-year-olds severely shaken, but not Roy Dixon, who has trained in various martial arts since he was just a child.

"I heard those women screaming and I just reacted," the fit grandfather said yesterday at his home in Whitby, muscles in his forearms rippling as he gripped a cane in his massive hands to demonstrate how he took care of the first of two thieves Monday.

Durham police say a man wearing a stocking over his head walked into Central Pharmacy at 211 Simcoe St. S., just south of King St. around noon, pointed "a large knife" at three women behind the counter and demanded they hand over an assortment of narcotics.

Dixon walked into the store to get a prescription filled as the robbery was in progress and said he couldn't help but get involved. He claims one of the men threatened to kill him and then lunged at him with the knife.

"They underestimated me," said Dixon, who is only about 5-foot-7 and 170 pounds. "I definitely surprised them. I'm not a dangerous person but I am prepared, deadly prepared. And I'm not afraid of anybody."

"I eat, drink and sleep martial arts," said Dixon, who retired last year from GM after 34 years on the job and still practices judo and karate daily.

When the man lunged at him, Dixon quickly grabbed two wooden canes at the store and a steel one and clubbed one man in the neck.

One of the men, described by Dixon as about 6-foot-4, attempted a feeble kick and then took a further beating.

"He told (the robber) to sit on the floor with his head down and his eyes closed, like a 3-year-old," Sgt. Paul McCurbin said, explaining the crook initially refused but after a few more whacks he was happy to oblige.

"When officers arrived and put him in handcuffs, he looked up at Dixon and asked, "Is it okay if I get up now, sir?" McCurbin said.

A second man in the store, who police allege was an accomplice, also attempted to take on Dixon and paid the price.

Dixon said he took it easy on the pair because he "didn't want to kill them." But both men still had to be treated in hospital following their encounter.

"He's a very brave man," said Elizabeth, an assistant pharmacist who was behind the counter during the robbery and did not give her last name.

Dixon said he was the Canadian light-heavyweight champion in karate for seven years as a young man. He also taught Durham police officers self-defense 20 years ago.