A gutsy Bronx bodega owner is defending himself against weapons charges after using a gun he says he found in his deli against a pair of masked armed robbers who were trying to stick up the place on Thanksgiving Day.
Jhony Gomez, who has operated Mi Gerizin Market in the borough’s Melrose district for 13 years, said he was shocked when he found a firearm abandoned in the restroom trash can early on Nov. 28 when he opened his store for business.
Gomez told supporters that he intended to turn the weapon over to authorities later in the day on his way to church. He ended up using the gun instead.
“He acted in a moment of terror to protect his life, his customers and his employees from armed robbers,” said Fernando Mateo, a spokesman for the United Bodegas of America.
According to Mateo, two masked gunmen stormed into the bodega shortly after 9:15 a.m. demanding cash, telling everyone to go to the back of the store and lie on the floor.
Gomez told cops that, thinking quickly, he retrieved the gun he had found just a couple of hours earlier and fired several shots at the bandits, wounding one of them in the foot.
The bodega owner said he feared for his life and for the safety of the customers in the store. But now he’s telling supporters that he’s afraid again — that justice won’t be served.
According to officials, the wounded alleged robber was later arrested, treated and then released. Gomez, meanwhile, was in court Wednesday facing charges of criminal possession of a weapon and criminal possession of ammunition.
“We don’t understand the system,” Mateo said. “The system is failing all New Yorkers, all of us. The fact that those robbers are free while Jhony is being prosecuted is an injustice that no New Yorker should tolerate.”
Mateo said Gomez opened his bodega at 6 a.m. on Thanksgiving Day.
“A day when most people are home with their families, this man came to his bodega, opened it up,” he said.
While routinely checking out the bathroom, Gomez found a gun, Mateo said.
“He can’t close the store and run out when he’s busy,” he explained. “He holds the gun, hopefully, to return it later in the day to his police precinct on his way to church.”
Mateo said Gomez, who was working behind the counter at the time, used the gun because he feared for his life and the lives of his customers.
Gomez, a husband and father of four, surrendered to police on Tuesday.
“How do you go from being a hero to going to jail?” Mateo said. “The ones who are not criminals are the ones who are being persecuted. They are the ones being held accountable for the crimes other people commit.”
Mateo said he asked Bronx District Attorney Darcel Clark to drop the charges against Gomez.
“He doesn’t deserve to be in jail,” Mateo said. “He deserves to get a proclamation from the mayor of the city of New York for saving lives.”
