Angry man foiled fake gun-wielding robber

An irate window cleaner confronted a robber who was armed with a fake gun before chasing him down and detaining him for police.

According to British media reports, Mr James Rowley, 34, was paying his cheques at a Lloyd's Bank outlet in Coulsdon, south London when a helmeted Andrew Fernandez, a 47-year-old homeless man, entered the room with a gun and demanded money from the cashier last November.

Mr Rowley, however, said he "wasn't in the mood" and confronted Fernandez before realising that the weapon was not real.

He told the London Evening Standard: "I was in a bad mood. I’d been dashing around all morning like a headless chicken trying to get the cheques and money together to pay the bills.

“I was at the counter and I saw this guy walk in with a crash helmet on. I just thought ‘here we go’. I knew what was going to happen next and I wasn’t in the mood for it.

"I didn’t know for certain that it was an imitation firearm, but I called his bluff. I said a few words to him and he hesitated, that’s when it clicked it was a fake. I was in the army cadets many years ago but as far as guns go that's it."

Reminds me of the time Vinnie Jones' character from Snatch called the bluff of a trio of dumb henchmen. 

Pursuit

Anyway, the would-be robber tried to flee the scene on a push bike, only to be pursued by Mr Rowley, who caught up with Fernandez and detained him.

Police found the imitation weapon and, upon further investigation, linked Fernandez to two other robberies in Barnet and Watford last year.

On Monday (June 17) Fernandez was jailed for life after he pleaded guilty to two counts of robbery and one attempted robbery. He received an additional eight years for possessing an imitation firearm.

Sources: The London Evening Standard, Mail Online, The Independent