BATON ROUGE - Tis the season for armed robberies.
Baton Rouge Police are seeing a spike this time of year, and it usually targets holiday shoppers. Armed robbery detectives said the increase begins now and typically runs through the next five weeks until after New Year's Day.
James Rodney is one of the city's latest armed robbery victims. The 92-year-old Korean War veteran was minding his own business in his Bogan Walk home when a thief came into his garage demanding money while pointing a gun at his head.
"I've been shot at before, but that's when I was in the military," Rodney said.
He never imagined that the battle he recalled fighting would come to the garage of his Baton Rouge home in 2019.
"I walked out of the kitchen door and he said, 'alright you old mother f**** give me some godd*** money,'" Rodney recalled. "I didn't know what he was talking about."
Rodney said he put his military hat on and went into battle mode.
"He pointed the pistol at me and said if I didn't give him some money, he was going to blow my mother f***** brain," Rodney said.
At that point, the thief began rummaging through Rodney's belongings. He seized the opportunity to go into his kitchen and grab a weapon.
"I equalized the situation," Rodney said. "He's got a gun and I've got a gun. Maybe we can talk and maybe we can't."
Rodney recalls giving the thief an ultimatum.
"Hey man, I've got something... If I pull the trigger, you're going to lose your d***," Rodney told the criminal.