ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, June 2, 1996 TAG: 9606030079
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B-8 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: RICHMOND
SOURCE: Associated Press
The last time Dorothy Newton was robbed, the mugger shot her after taking all her money. This time she wasn't taking any chances.
Newton, 41, pulled a pistol from her purse and shot two teen-agers who allegedly tried to rob her Thursday evening.
``Somewhere along the line, it has to stop,'' she said. ``I was not going to let it happen again.''
The evening began pleasantly enough. Newton and her 28-year-old niece, Doris Matthews, were taking a stroll on the first rain-free day in almost a week. As they walked to Newton's apartment in a tough area of Richmond, they saw two young men approaching them.
One of the youths pulled a gun and leveled it at Newton.
``The guy cursed at us and said, `Just give me your pocketbook,''' said Newton. ``A chill came over me, I guess it was a flashback.''
Newton was robbed and shot in June 1994, and her godson was paralyzed after being shot in a different robbery.
When the muggers accosted the two women Thursday, Newton said, ``All I could taste was gunpowder. I said, `Take everything, just don't hurt anybody.'''
Newton handed over her bag. The robbers took about $20 from her wallet and then demanded more money. They threatened Matthews and told her to remove her jewelry.
At this point, two more young men walked over to help the muggers. They picked up the groceries the two women had put on the ground.
Newton told the robbers she might have more money in her purse. She unzipped it and pulled out a gun.
``I said, `Take this!' and shot him,'' she said. ``I didn't care what happened. I didn't want anything to happen to my niece.''
Police said she fired five rounds.
``I wasn't trying to kill anybody, but it was my life or theirs,'' she said.
The bullets hit the original two muggers. All four fled, but police tracked down the two wounded ones.
``The two that didn't get hit are probably still running,'' said Richmond police spokesman Karl Holzbach. Police were searching for them, he said.
Police identified one of the attackers as James E. David, 18, of Richmond. The other was a 15-year-old boy. His name was withheld because of his juvenile status.
David was listed in stable condition at the Medical College of Virginia Hospitals; the juvenile's wounds were less serious, Holzbach said.
Police will charge both with two counts of robbery and two counts of using a firearm in a felony when they are released from the hospital, Holzbach said.
Holzbach said no charges were planned against Newton.
``She was just protecting herself,'' he said. ``We don't encourage people doing that in case they miss. But the law says you have a right to defend yourself.''
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