{"id":7935,"date":"2026-06-20T16:45:57","date_gmt":"2026-06-20T13:45:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsfire.gr\/en\/?p=7935"},"modified":"2026-06-20T16:45:57","modified_gmt":"2026-06-20T13:45:57","slug":"starbucks-fires-workers-who-fought-off-armed-robbers-video","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsfire.gr\/en\/starbucks-fires-workers-who-fought-off-armed-robbers-video\/","title":{"rendered":"Starbucks fires workers who fought off armed robbers: video"},"content":{"rendered":"

The dramatic confrontation unfolded at a Starbucks location near St. Louis University in Midtown when two hooded men entered the store brandishing what appeared to be firearms, as New York Post<\/em> reports.<\/p>\n

Michael Harris<\/strong> and Devin Jones-Ransom<\/strong> were working when the suspects stormed in and pointed a gun at staff members, forcing ten employees and one customer to the ground. One robber rushed the cash register, pushing a female worker aside while ordering compliance.<\/p>\n

Harris, who was operating the drive-thru at the time, moved toward the register in an attempt to open it for the thieves. However, he lacked managerial access to the cash drawer. When unable to quickly produce money, one of the robbers pistol-whipped Harris in the back of the head.<\/p>\n

After that point, like when my vision went black, I was like ‘I’m about to get shot,’<\/em> Harris recalled in an interview with Fox 2 News.<\/p>\n

The situation shifted when Jones-Ransom noticed the armed suspect lower his weapon. The employee immediately tackled the intruder, driving him into the drive-thru window. The impact revealed the gun was a fake, breaking upon collision.<\/p>\n

Once Harris realized the weapon was fraudulent, both employees launched a counteroffensive against the would-be robbers. Overhead security cameras captured the two workers delivering blows to the suspects in the dining area.<\/p>\n

The robbers, later identified as Joshua Noe<\/strong> and Marquis Porter-Doyle<\/strong>, were overpowered by the employees. Noe was restrained on the ground while Porter-Doyle managed to escape the scene. Arrest photos showed Noe’s bloodied face covered with cuts and lacerations.<\/p>\n

Both suspects were ultimately convicted of robbery charges and sentenced to prison terms.<\/p>\n

Despite successfully defending themselves and the store, Harris and Jones-Ransom were terminated from their positions several weeks after the incident. Harris said he received the termination call once media attention surrounding the event had subsided, leaving him surprised and confused by the decision.<\/p>\n

Crime-Plagued Location<\/h2>\n

Harris told reporters the Starbucks location had endured months of hostile behavior from unruly customers prior to the armed robbery attempt. Staff members faced regular verbal abuse, physical threats, and objects thrown at them, with management allegedly failing to take meaningful action. Several employees had resigned due to the hostile environment.<\/p>\n

Company Policy vs. Self-Defense<\/h2>\n

Starbucks defended the terminations by citing company policy requiring employees to comply with criminal demands and avoid actions that could escalate dangerous situations. The corporation issued a statement emphasizing that adherence to safety protocols is essential for protecting both workers and customers during high-stress incidents.<\/p>\n

The company acknowledged the frightening nature of the robbery attempt while expressing relief that no one sustained more serious injuries.<\/p>\n

Harris’s attorney, Ryan Krupp<\/strong>, sharply criticized the policy, arguing it could embolden future criminals and prevent employees from defending their own lives when necessary. Krupp suggested such policies create an environment where workers are discouraged from self-protection precisely when it matters most.<\/p>\n

The incident highlights ongoing tensions between corporate safety protocols and employee rights to self-defense in increasingly dangerous retail environments.<\/p>\n

With information from New York Post<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Two Starbucks employees who fought off armed robbers with fake guns during a December 2023 holdup were fired for violating company policy, despite the suspects being convicted and imprisoned.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":47,"featured_media":7934,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[122],"tags":[3319,7674,7673,3015,7672,2321,209],"nfg_topic":[135],"class_list":["post-7935","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-armed-robbery","tag-devin-jones-ransom","tag-michael-harris","tag-missouri","tag-st-louis","tag-starbucks","tag-united-states","nfg_topic-world"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsfire.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7935","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsfire.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsfire.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsfire.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/47"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsfire.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7935"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/newsfire.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7935\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7942,"href":"https:\/\/newsfire.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7935\/revisions\/7942"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsfire.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7934"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsfire.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7935"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsfire.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7935"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsfire.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7935"},{"taxonomy":"nfg_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsfire.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/nfg_topic?post=7935"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}