"Stay calm."
That's the top piece of advice Sgt. Brandon Deppen, community service officer with the City of Warren Police Department, has for employees and customers who may find themselves witnesses to a robbery
That very scene played out at a Kwik Fill in the city earlier this month and another robbery was attempted unsucessfully at a Subway sandwich shop during the same weekend. Roger Yaegle was arrested last week in connection with those incidents and is currently incarcerated in the Warren County Jail after failing to post $100,000 bail.
For employees, Deppen said they should try to activate their alarm system in the event of a attempted robbery.
For both employees and customers, Deppen said someone should call 911.
The next stage in the response should be to isolate any victims and check for injuries, Deppen explained. He also said people in such a situation should write down their observations, including the names of customers "serviced before, during and after the crime, if known."
If the assailant leaves, Deppen said witnesses should "go to the door used by the robber(s), or an adjacent window, and observe the direction of escape, vehicle (and) license tag.
"The most important thing: Do not put yourself in danger to protect money or property," Deppen said. "They can be replaced; you can't."