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Robbery Victim, 89, Was Carrying Pistol

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By LISA A. DAVIS, The Tampa Tribune

Published: December 6, 2007

Updated: 12/05/2007 09:45 pm

NEW PORT RICHEY - Paul James Sullivan's most recent jail booking mug shows a prominent cut above his left eye.

He's lucky that's all it was.

That's because Donald Golden, the man Sullivan is accused of slamming to the pavement and trying to rob Tuesday afternoon, has packed heat on a regular basis for about five decades.

Specifically, the 89-year-old carries (legally with his concealed weapons permit) a .38-caliber, Smith & Wesson five-shot.

He didn't get a chance to use it Tuesday because his hands were out of commission after they - and his face - hit the parking lot outside Lil' Champ.

"If he didn't break my wrist and throw me down, I would've put a bullet in him," Golden said in a telephone interview Wednesday. "That's what he needed."

About noon Tuesday, Golden pulled his 2007 Dodge Ram into the gas station and convenience store at 7424 State Road 54, refueled, paid with his debit card and was walking back to his pickup when he felt a little tug on his back pocket.

Golden reached back to cover his wallet and struggled with the would-be robber. The man lifted Golden by his pants pockets and dropped him to the pavement, breaking his wrist in two places.

Pain shot through his wrist, Golden said, but he wasn't exactly afraid of his attacker.

"It don't scare me," the retiree said. "I'm from Detroit."

At least twice in his long life Golden has faced an uncertain fate at the hands of knife-wielding men: while driving a public bus and again while driving a cab, both in Detroit.

In the first incident, a woman knocked the knife away.

In the second, the cold blade was touching his throat when he was saved by what he could only describe as an intervention from God.

On Tuesday, it was a Navy petty officer and other bystanders who saved the day.

Shortly after passing a fatal traffic accident down the street, reservist Michael Thomas Reynolds was waiting in line at the busy gas station, which boasts some of lowest prices around. He was surveying the parking lot to pass the time when he saw a woman walk over and tap a man on the shoulder and point to an elderly customer.

The action started when the suspect tried to snatch the wallet.

"I just jumped out of the car, left my door open and everything and just tackled him," said Reynolds, of New Port Richey.

The robber got away and Reynolds followed, yelling for someone to dial 911. A bystander helped Golden up.

The chase continued through the Walgreens parking lot next door and, at some point, over a small body of water and under a bridge. A motorist stopped and stood at one side of the bridge and Reynolds "flushed" out the fleeing man from the other.

Eventually, Reynolds moved his quarry toward a 7-Eleven at State Road 54 and Seven Springs Boulevard. The suspect tried to turn the tables by yelling that he was the one being robbed, Reynolds said.

Reynolds slammed the man against a white truck, which turned out to be an armored vehicle, arousing the curiosity and suspicion of two armed guards who at first couldn't tell who was the perpetrator.

When they turned their attention to 5-foot-11, 200-pound Sullivan, the guards helped Reynolds secure him with zip ties until Pasco deputies arrived minutes later, Reynolds said. The deputies noted the cut above Sullivan's eye.

"It was like watching an episode of 'Cops,'

" Reynolds said. "I didn't think. I just acted. It was because of my Navy training."

Sullivan, of 7413 Dagget Terrace, was arrested on charges of strong-arm robbery and battery on a person over 65. He was being held Wednesday at the Land O' Lakes Jail with bail set at $15,000. Sullivan has a history of drug and burglary convictions, records show.

Deputies tracked down Sullivan's girlfriend, identified as Christina Hill, 31, at Dagget and Seven Springs Boulevard. Hill, who lives with Sullivan, was also in the jail Wednesday on a charge of strong-arm robbery. Her bail is $10,000.

Golden is thankful the pair is behind bars and said he owes it all to Reynolds.

"He was very brave," Golden said. "This guy Sullivan was a wild man."

Golden invited Reynolds to his New Port Richey home Wednesday afternoon.

"I thanked him. I shook his hand and I hugged him."

Reporter Lisa A. Davis can be reached at (727) 815-1083 or ldavis@tampatrib.com.

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