Dillon, Mont. • A vacationing police officer from Utah who stopped at a southwestern Montana grocery store for coffee and Tylenol ended up foiling an armed robbery at the store's pharmacy, authorities said.
Terry Watson, 62, was arrested on suspicion of attempted deliberate homicide. Prosecutors also plan to charge him with two counts of assault with a weapon and possession of dangerous drugs, Dillon Police Chief Don Guiberson said Tuesday.
Watson jumped over the pharmacy counter at a Safeway on Sunday with a .45-caliber gun and demanded drugs, Guiberson said.
The officer's wife saw what was happening and ran to get her husband from another part of the store. Officer Jeremy Barnes went to jump over the counter, but the suspect pointed his gun, Guiberson said.
Barnes, who works for the Utah Department of Public Safety, backed off but was able to tackle Watson. The gun discharged as the men struggled, sending shoppers scattering, Guiberson said. No one was hurt.
Barnes wrestled the gun away and held Watson at gunpoint until police arrived.
"I would like to express deep gratitude to the off-duty officer who put his life on the line to save people he did not even know," Guiberson said in a statement. "This is a shining example of what law enforcement does on a daily basis, even when not in their jurisdiction, or on the clock."
Watson was in custody Tuesday and had not yet appeared in court, said Guiberson. Neither Guiberson nor officials in the Beaverhead County attorney's office knew if Watson had an attorney to speak on his behalf.
Donate to the newsroom now. The Salt Lake Tribune, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) public charity and contributions are tax deductible