THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, April 5, 1995 TAG: 9504050468
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JON FRANK, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: PORTSMOUTH LENGTH: Medium: 76 lines
Veterinarian Andrew F. Horner was about to administer a rabies vaccination to a German shepherd named Princess Tuesday morning when a man entered his office.
Although Horner is used to dealing with the unpredictability of animal care at his clinic on Airline Boulevard, the visitor presented a unique challenge.
He was wielding a gun - and demanding money.
At first, as the German shepherd cowered in a corner, Horner went along with the man's demands. But then the gunman made a mistake, and the occupants of Horner's clinic - all except the dog, that is - sprang into action like a well-oiled, crime-fighting machine.
``Everybody here did exactly the right thing,'' Horner said Tuesday afternoon, several hours after he helped foil the robbery attempt.
Horner gave this account of the ordeal:
When the man entered the Airline Boulevard Veterinary Hospital shortly before 9 a.m., he ordered Horner and the German shepherd's owner, 48-year-old Quentin K. Quinn of Chesapeake, to lie face down on the floor. He also forced the clinic receptionist, 51-year-old Carol Lorin, into the treatment room and onto the floor.
He demanded that they remove their watches, rings and other jewelry and give him their money.
They complied. Then the gunman told Horner to get the money from the cash drawer. The cash was kept in another room of the clinic, which Horner crawled to.
What the robber didn't realize was that other people were in the clinic, and weapons were available for protection.
Before the gunman could see her, Natalie J. Carpenter, Horner's veterinary partner, had pulled out one of the weapons, a .380-caliber semiautomatic handgun, and hid it from view. As Horner reached into the cash register, he saw that Carpenter had a gun and was ready to use it.
That's when the gunman realized that Carpenter and three other people were in the back room of the clinic. He demanded that they also get on the floor. Carpenter concealed the gun beneath her.
Horner then gave the drawer, which contained about $50, to the gunman and lay down on the floor again.
When the gunman laid his .32-caliber handgun on the floor so he could use both hands to get cash from the drawer, Horner leapt for the gun, grabbing it just as the man grabbed his hand.
The two men struggled with the loaded weapon. At one point, Horner was able to point the gun at the robber and pull the trigger. But the man's hand prevented the hammer from hitting the gun's firing pin.
``That's the only thing that saved him,'' Horner said.
Finally, as the two men struggled, the gun went off. The bullet bounced off the floor and ricocheted into the clinic's concrete wall.
At that point, Horner said, the robber jumped up and tried to flee. But Quinn and clinic employee Ben Jernigan tackled him. Horner, holding the robber's gun, also helped subdue him.
Meanwhile, another clinic employee, Joanna Bell, ran to a neighboring business and called 911.
Moments later, Portsmouth police arrived.
Andrew A. Skeeter, 33, of the 2600 block of High St., was arrested and charged with four counts of robbery, three counts of abduction and eight weapons violations.
Horner said the weapons that he and Carpenter keep in the clinic gave him a sense of well-being, although they were not used to prevent the robbery.
``If he had shot someone, we would have been able to return fire,'' Horner said. ``But I hope I never have to do it again.'' ILLUSTRATION: Color photo
RICHARD L. DUNSTON/Staff
KEYWORDS: ROBBERY by CNB