Cashier, bystanders stop Miami Beach robber

MIAMI BEACH, Fla – A cashier and two bystanders helped capture a robber Tuesday in Miami Beach, police said. 

Jorge Gonzalez, 54, went to the Eli-Mar Market Cafeteria in the 1200 block of 71st Street at about 7 p.m. and demanded $100 from the cashier, according to a Miami Beach police report. 

Gonzalez, wearing a yellow bandana and a hat, pointed a knife at the cashier, who refused to hand over the money, and then took $7 from the register, police said.

During the robbery, the cashier grabbed a bat and struck Gonzalez's hands. 

Gonzalez then fled the store through a back door, but the cashier began to chase him, yelling for help, police said. That's when Jimmy McMillion and Danny Hawk tackled Gonzalez and held him until police arrived.

"(We) just stopped the guy (and) made sure he didn't have a weapon, like a gun on him, obviously," Hawk said. "He said, 'Please, just let me go.' I was just like, 'Nah, it's not going to happen.'"

After being read his Miranda rights, Gonzalez told police that he has AIDS and needed the money for food and medicine, authorities said.

"We're just glad to get a bad guy off the streets," McMillion said.

Gonzalez is being held in jail without bond on an armed robbery charge.