Two cousins, Aaron Hoil, 25, of Avella Street, Santa Elena, and Isvi Samuel Hoil, 20, of Daisy Street, Santa Elena, along with an unidentified accomplice, made a fateful, deadly decision on Saturday, June 29, to attempt to rob Anna’s Supermarket in Santa Elena, George Price Avenue, at about 8:25 that night.
The store’s bold security guard refused to be intimidated when a masked man approached and put a gun to his side and demanded he hand over his firearm.
The guard pushed away the robber’s gun and in the struggle, the gun went off, hitting the security guard in his left shoulder.
The guard still managed to take out his .38 Special revolver and fired a shot at the robber, hitting him in the neck and causing him to die almost immediately on the sidewalk in front of the store.
The second masked robber, armed with a machete, lunged at the security guard with the machete in an attempt to chop him, but the guard shot him in the forehead, and he also fell to the ground and died almost immediately.
A third robber, who was also armed with a machete, then charged at the guard to chop him, but the embattled guard, who was now out of bullets, ran. A good citizen who was driving a car saw the guard being chased by the man with the machete and stopped his car. The guard jumped in, escaping death or serious injury at the hands of the third robber.
On seeing the guard jump into the car, the bandit reportedly hurled his machete at the guard as the car was moving off. The bandit then escaped from the area.
Police arrived on the scene within ten minutes, said a witness. Police said that upon their arrival, they saw the bodies of two Hispanic men lying in front of the store. The two bodies were taken to the San Ignacio Hospital, where they were declared dead on arrival. The dead robbers were later identified as cousins Aaron and Isvi Hoil, both residents of Santa Elena, Cayo.
According to police, one of the robbers was wearing a red hooded jacket, white tennis shoes and long, brown pants, and a red ski mask was covering his face. It was he who approached the security guard and told him to hand over his gun, at the same time pointing a gun in his chest, say police.
The second man was dressed in blue jeans pants with a blue hooded jacket and a mauve ski mask. He was the one who attempted to chop the security guard, who responded by shooting him in the forehead.
The third bandit who attacked the security guard, said police, was not wearing a mask.
Police processed the scene, and a black 9mm pistol with a brown hand grip bearing serial # 135672, and eleven .380 live rounds and one expended .380 shell were recovered close to the body of Isvi Hoil, and a small machete about 12 inches in length was recovered next to the body of Aaron Hoil.
The security guard, whose name was not released for his own protection, was admitted to the San Ignacio Hospital for observation. Police said that they believe that four persons were involved in the attempted robbery, and they have begun a manhunt for the remaining two men.
Inspector Reymundo Reyes, the Deputy Commander of the San Ignacio Police, said that the two cousins are known to San Ignacio Police, having been arrested many times for various crimes, including burglaries and robberies, and he was not surprised that they were killed during a robbery attempt.
Inspector Reyes said that the security guard was brave and alert, and that although he was injured, he did not panic, and was able to kill the two robbers and escape from the third, who was bent on killing him. He said that a group in Cayo is collecting money to help the security guard pay for his medical expenses.
Reyes said that they are compiling the files which will be forwarded to the Director of Public Prosecution, but it is unlikely that charges will be brought against the security guard.