POLK COUNTY, FL -- The Polk County Sheriff's Office says the victim of a would-be armed robbery shot one of his attackers on Sunday.
Johnny Preston told deputies he was in the front yard of his Lakeland home preparing his cargo van for work around 6 p.m. He spotted two men in a red 4-door Mazda driving by slowly, staring at him.
Preston became suspicious and retrieved his .38 caliber Smith & Wesson revolver from inside the van and wrote down the Mazda's vehicle tag number.
He went back to preparing his van. Moments later, he looked up and was staring down the barrel of a shotgun. The two men, who were wearing t-shirts over their faces, demanded his wallet.
Preston said he pushed the barrel of the shotgun away with one hand and fired his handgun with the other, hitting the armed suspect in the torso.
The suspect, identified as Michael Darnell Richardson of Lakeland, drove himself to Plant City Hospital where he was treated and arrested.
The other other suspect, identified as Mario Ford of Plant City, fled on foot, and was found hiding under a parked car.
Preston was not injured.
