Deputies: Southwest Florida store clerk shoots and kills would-be robber, kidnapper

NAPLES, Fla. - A clerk at a landmark East Naples corner store shot and killed a man Tuesday as he attempted to rob the family-run shop and flee with her 1-year-old daughter.

The man, whose name was not released, demanded money from the Elizabeth Easterly, a clerk at Del’s 24 Hour Food Store, and then grabbed a stroller that held Easterly’s baby, said Del Ackerman, the store’s owner and Easterly’s grandfather.

Easterly, 22, was alone during a shift change, running the shop with her 1 and 2-year-old daughters there, Ackerman said.

“I almost lost my two babies,” Ackerman said of his great-granddaughters.

The children were unharmed. However, a bloodied stroller remained inside the front door for hours as investigators gathered evidence and interviewed witnesses at the scene.

Around 3 p.m. a man entered the store, 2802 Thomasson Dr., “acting erratically,” Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman Jamie Mosbach said.

As the man made for the front door with the child, Easterly did just as she had been taught — she drew a gun and aimed for the would-be robber’s knee, Ackerman said.

Bleeding, the man was then tackled outside the front door by a store employee who was about to start his shift and was walking toward the store when the shooting happened. A pool of blood and a bloodied pair of men’s athletic shoes marked where the man was held down until deputies arrived at the scene.

The man was transported to NCH Downtown Naples Hospital. He died from his injuries.

Deputies diverted traffic at the intersection of Thomasson and Bayshore drives for two hours following the shooting. Easterly could be seen inside the store as a swarm of patrol cars and investigators blocked off the scene. Both her husband and Ackermen had left the store less than half an hour before the attempted robbery.

Across the street, Nik Merlos and Gloria Angeles huddled under a bus awning with their 14-month-old daughter as deputies took down crime scene tape. Angeles had made a quick trip to Del’s around 2 p.m.

“I knew there were creepy people around, but not that bad,” said Merlos, who has lived in the Bayshore area for seven years.

In September 2009, three masked men pistol whipped a clerk at Del’s, robbed her at gunpoint, and then stole her car. It was a blemish in nearly half a century of serving the community that didn’t stop Ackerman from opening the doors again.

“They’ve tried to clean (the neighborhood) up a lot,” said Shannon Marcum, who lives two blocks from Del’s and grew up in the neighborhood. “They’ve succeeded somewhat.”

Three hours after the shooting, Ackerman questioned whether he would bounce back. Though his granddaughter and great-grandchildren were unharmed, the threat frazzled him.

“Under these circumstances? I would consider (closing),” he said. “I’d rather have life than money.”

Known as a neighborhood stalwart, he has kept the shop open 24 hours a day for 47 years, through hurricanes and families tragedies.

But with a dozen employees working to keep the store open round the clock, too many people would be affected by shutting the doors, he decided.

“As hard as we’ve worked in this town ... are we going to let one person of any kind knock my family and my babies out?” Ackerman said. “No way.”

The Sheriff’s Office is continuing its investigation. It is unclear if Easterly could face criminal charges in the shooting.