A convenience-store clerk who shot and killed a robber during a struggle in Centerfield on Sunday will not face criminal charges.

The Sanpete County Attorney says he will not seek to penalize the woman who shot Antonio E. Ramos to death using his own weapon.

Sanpete County sheriff's deputies said Ramos, 42, approached one clerk as she was taking out the garbage near closing time Sunday in the town just south of Gunnison.

Holding a .22-caliber rifle, Ramos forced that clerk back inside the store, where he took a second clerk hostage and demanded money from the women. During the robbery, police said one of the two clerks got hold of the man's rifle. It discharged and hit Ramos in the head.

County Attorney Ross Blackham said he reviewed the store's security footage, spoke with police officers and interviewed the two clerks and decided he would not hold the clerk responsible for the robber's death.

"A reasonable belief existed that deadly force was necessary to prevent death or serious bodily injury to another person and/or the commission of a violent felony," Blackham wrote in a news release. "The deadly force against Mr. Ramos was therefore justified under Utah law and is an exoneration from any criminal responsibility for his death."