Just For Laughs: Marines Kick Some Ass And Stop A N.A.T

This 'article' is a hoot and I wanted to share it with you. According to Snopes.com the story is a mixture of true and false information:

 

Origins:   On 26 November 2010 (Black Friday) at about 1:15 p.m., those manning the surveillance cameras at a Best Buy in Augusta, Georgia, spotted a shopper cutting a Dell laptop computer from its packaging and stuffing it down his pants. According to police, store security personnel approached the suspect, 39-year-old Tracey Attaway of Waynesboro, Georgia, and asked him to return the merchandise. Attaway became angry, released the laptop, and ran out the front door, pulling a knife and knocking down a Best Buy employee in the process.

Outside the store's entrance were four Marines and seven volunteers collecting donations for Toys for Tots. One of them, Cpl. Phillip Duggan, clotheslined the running man, bringing him to the ground. The assailant regained his feet and swung his knife, stabbing Duggan, then was quickly tackled by several other Marines and members of the store's loss-prevention team, who held him in the parking lot until deputies arrived.

The injured Marine was taken to Eisenhower Army Medical Center and released after receiving stitches. He was well enough the next day to drop off a toy for donation at a nearby Walmart.

Cpl. Duggan's attacker, Tracey Attaway, was jailed and charged with armed robbery, aggravated assault and possession of a knife in the commission of a crime, and and in October 2011 he was sentenced to life in prison. (Attaway faced the maximum sentence on all assault and theft charges because he was a convicted felon with 30 arrests in his past.)

An account of the crime circulated via e-mail in December 2010 was presented as a 27 November Associated Press account of the incident. While the circulated account was indeed based on that very news article, it contained a paragraph not found in the original:

The suspect was transported to the local hospital with two broken arms, a broken leg, possible broken ribs, assorted lacerations and bruises he obtained when he fell trying to run after stabbing the Marine.

(The audience is supposed to read between the lines in the preceding text and conclude that the suspect did not fall but rather was beaten by the other three Marines.)

None of the news accounts we examined indicated that Attaway was injured, either while being subdued or afterwards. That bit appears to be pure invention on the part of the person who inserted the additional paragraph into the news account, thereby transforming it into a "Don't mess with the Marines" object lesson.

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Although this isn't an official "retail in the headlines" story, I cracked up when I read it and wanted to give other RHUers a laugh while fessing up to it not being completely true, and to give a salute to the Marines who did indeed help out in a N.A.T. situation. :)

Comments

[Sadie]

I think I saw this either in notalwaysright or notalwaysworking. If it is the same story, I'm pretty sure the marines were yelled at by the manager as one was injured and could sue the store, or something along those lines...

[RayvenMoon]

@Sadie I think its a different story.

I've always loved this one and while the guy didn't get the much deserved beat down, its still a good story.

[Skittles]

I always questioned that story when I have seen it before, because I would expect Marines to have more self control than that. I also expect if it were true it would have some addendum with what their CO would have given them for punishment if they weren't outright dishcarged from the military. Not that I would agree with that but the military has pretty strict behavior standards especially when a soldier is off base and in uniform.

[IxenHeart]

Looks like the post itself was deleted on notalwaysworking, but I made a copy since I did find it hilarious.

Semper Awry
ELECTRONICS STORE | GEORGIA, USA | BOSSES, CRIMINAL/ILLEGAL, EMPLOYEES, THEMED GIVEAWAY
(I’m an Active Duty US Marine and last year during the holiday season three fellow Marines and I were donating our time for the Toys for Tots organization. This takes place outside of an electronics store where we are collecting toys. As we’re doing this, a man suddenly comes running out of the store holding a laptop in one hand and a a knife in the other. Store employees are yelling at him. Note that we are all in our dress blue uniforms.)

Marine #1: “Hey I think this guy is stealing something.”

Marine #2: “We gotta stop him!”

Me: *as thief approaches* “Hey man, stop!”

Thief: “Get out of my way!”

(The thief lunges at Marine #2, and they lock up and fall to the ground. Marine #2 ends up getting a small cut on his back during the struggle. The thief, however, ends up with two broken arms, a broken leg, multiple cuts and bruises and a few cracked ribs. The police arrive soon after and take the thief into custody. Then the store manager comes out and talks to us.)

Manager: “Why did you guys do that? You could have been killed!”

Me: “Sir, we had the situation under control. We stopped the thief and the laptop he was stealing has been recovered.”

Manager: “But store policy is to not stop people who are stealing things! We can get sued if someone gets hurt. I’m not taking a lawsuit for your friend getting stabbed and that guy who’s a** you kicked is probably going to sue y’all and us now!”

Me: “Sir, we aren’t under your employment and I’m not listening to you anymore. Have a nice day.”

(We called it a day after that. The worst part… they didn’t allow us to come back and collect toys in front of their store this year!)

[NC Tony]

I think the severe beating was invented by the writer because, let's face it, how many times have you seen or heard about a NAT getting away with their crime and wish that you could beat them into a pile of broken bones?