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53 °F 5 Day Forecast Wednesday, October 22, 2003 Today's News | Classifieds | Autos | Homes | Jobs | Tempo | eSouthernOregon | Home Delivery SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map EXTRA Newspaper in Education Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People CLASSIFIEDS Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Find a Rental Place an ad eSouthernOregon Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar CUSTOMER SERVICE Frequent Questions Advertising Information Home Delivery Employment Contact Us Media Kit Network Affiliate Email Story to a Friend October 10, 2003 Still shaken by the experience, Mike Rule tells how a would-be robber Thursday morning tried to hold up the Purple Parrot in south Medford where he works. Mail Tribune / Bob Pennell Good thing that finger wasn’t loaded Store clerk runs down, catches would-be robber and holds him for police By SARAH LEMON Mail Tribune When Purple Parrot clerk Mike Rule realized a robber wasn’t all he was cracked up to be, instinct kicked in. Wearing sunglasses and a black curly wig under a green stocking cap, a man walked into the South Central Avenue store at about 10 a.m. Thursday, apparently believing that Rule’s female co- worker was alone, Rule said. When he saw Rule walk into view from an office area, the suspect prodded Rule in the back with an object hidden under his coat sleeve. "He said this is a bleepin’-bleepin’ robbery," Rule said, adding that the suspect pushed him into a chair. Heading for the store’s panic button, Rule’s co-worker bumped into the suspect, exposing his index finger under the jacket sleeve. Rule tried to stand up, but the would-be robber pushed him back into the chair and ran. Advertisement By that time customers figured out what was going on as the suspect wrestled with the store’s glass door and tried to dodge a blue Honda parked just outside. But Rule was right behind, tackling him on the asphalt and holding him down until police arrived about a minute later. "I’m definitely no hero. I was pretty scared," Rule said. "I just had more energy than he did." Medford police lodged 40-year-old Mark Anthony Corsbie in the Jackson County Jail on charges of second-degree robbery, fourth-degree assault, harassment and disorderly conduct. He remained in jail Thursday night without bail, facing a probation violation in addition to the other charges. Corsbie told police he was homeless; court records show his last address was on Obispo Drive in Medford. Thursday’s robbery was the third this year at a Medford Purple Parrot store. Police arrested Abdur Rashid Ali-Woods, 41, of the 800 block of Ellendale Drive in Medford, in connection with a July robbery at the Purple Parrot on Highland Drive. The same shop was robbed in February this year, but no one has been charged with that crime. Selling cigarettes, lottery tickets and deli food, Purple Parrots in Medford, Central Point, White City and Talent have fallen prey to robbers over the past five years. Yet the store on South Central had never been robbed during the three years of Rule’s employment, he said, adding that he had no second thoughts about his job after Thursday’s excitement. If anything, he felt stopping the robber may have been too rash, he said. "I guess I felt personally violated," Rule said. But police didn’t admonish the quick-thinking clerk. "At that point, I think it was a good move to do what he did," said Medford police Lt. Mike Moran. In a similar episode in 1998, two customers —husband and wife — in the Purple Parrot on Highland Drive jumped 22-year-old Jennifer Lynn White of Medford when she brandished a pellet gun and announced she was robbing the store. White was later convicted of the crime. Police tout armed robbery as one of the most ill-conceived crimes. The penalty — a minimum sentence of seven and half years in prison for first-degree robbery and nearly six years for second-degree robbery — is a large risk compared to the relatively small pay-off robbers can expect, Moran said. Reach reporter Sarah Lemon at 776-4487, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright © 1997-2003 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions Website Feedback 3 WEEKS FREE! ADVERTISERS SPECIAL SECTIONS Auto Finder Job Finder Home Finder Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Tempo Real Estate Showcase Food for Thought Hike of the Week Wellness Connection Outdoor Journal Moving to Southern Oregon? Volunteer Openings Prime Times