A brave barista and a bystander in San Francisco jumped into action last Friday to protect a coffee shop against a would-be robber.
Surveillance video from inside Carlin's Cafe on Valencia Street shows a man in a hoodie enter the business and try to steal the backpack of a customer sitting up against the window.
That’s when barista Nick Grant rammed the suspect with a cart, grabbed him and punched him, all while the suspect sprayed him with pepper spray.
Then another man enters the cafe, a bystander identified as Jim Carroll, who is seen briefly putting the suspect in a headlock, allowing Grant to regain control and subdue the suspect.
San Francisco police arrived a few minutes later and took the man into custody. They identified him as Amir Moner, 42, of Concord, who is now facing a number of felony charges.
"Someone was in trouble, and it was in my neighborhood," Carroll said. "It was just instinct. I knew someone was in trouble, and I ran in to help. (The suspect) was basically begging for mercy, asking to be let go, said he wouldn’t do it again. I told him he was right about that. I think this is a victory for our neighborhood."
NBC Bay Area has reached out to Grant, the barista, and had not heard back as of Monday morning.
Carlin's manager said Grant was at work the next day and was OK, though he was coughing a little bit because of the pepper spray.
Get a weekly recap of the latest San Francisco Bay Area housing news. >Sign up for NBC Bay Area’s Housing Deconstructed newsletter.
