Army veteran flipped armed robber over his shoulder at Gwinnett Co. gas station

GWINNETT COUNTY, Ga. — An Army veteran says he’s thankful Gwinnett County Police were able to respond and recover thousands of dollars stolen during an armed robbery after he pulled over for a flat tire.

Rusty Fields says he had just pulled into a gas station on Buford Drive near I-985 early Friday morning when a stranger approached him.

“He stopped me and said ‘I’m stranded can you help me’ and I said ‘Look, I got problems of my own,’” he told Channel 2′s Gwinnett County Bureau Chief Matt Johnson.

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Right after that, Fields says the man, later identified as Johnny Roque, 28, forced him onto his knees while he felt a gun pressed against his back.

“I could still feel that pushed into my back so he took my keys out of my pocket,” he said.

Hours earlier, Fields says he withdrew $12,000 from his bank with plans to deposit it into another account.

He still had the money on him in an envelope during the robbery.

“The one I didn’t want him to get was that bank envelope in my other pocket,” he said.

When the suspect took his envelope, Fields says adrenaline and Army training kicked in.

“I leaned back and I grabbed him by his head and slammed him on the ground and said, ‘Now you empty your pockets,’” he said.

Before he could get his money back he says the man took off toward I-985 at Buford Drive at around 3:30 a.m.

Gwinnett County police officers from the North Precinct were nearby after Fields reported the robbery.

They say they found Roque walking along the interstate with Fields’s money.

Roque is now under arrest facing armed robbery charges while in jail.

Now he keeps a list of names for the 11 officers who helped nab the suspect and get his money back.

“I couldn’t believe how coordinated they were,” he said. “They were there in a flash and had him within 30 minutes.”

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