Phone-repair store robbery interrupted by LR customer

The owner of a cellphone repair store in the River Market District says a “guardian angel” saved him from an armed robber Tuesday, more than a dozen years after the store owner was partially paralyzed in a California holdup.

Ace Vargas, owner of Cellular Doctorz on Markham Street, said he had just finished repairing a customer’s phone about 6 p.m. when a man walked into his store, pointed a pistol at him and demanded money.

Vargas said he placed about $400 on the counter, then the robber turned his gun on a man sitting in a back room of the shop.

Vargas said the man, identified only as Brett in a police report, is a regular at the business who often comes in with phones needing repair and occasionally stays to learn how Vargas fixes them.

According to Vargas, the man moved toward the robber slowly and reached over the counter to surrender his wallet.

“Right when he gets close to him, he drops the wallet and basically he goes for the gun and twists the guy’s wrists,” Vargas said. “I guess in the struggle for that, the clip dropped to the ground and it dropped on the side of my buddy.”

The robber turned and fled through the back of the business, Vargas said.

A similar incident more than 12 years ago left Vargas in a wheelchair, partially paralyzed after being shot five times by a group of men robbing his jewelry store in Atwater, Calif.

Vargas said he has trouble remembering the exact year, but he remembers that it was May 9.

He said the violence in California was one of the reasons he came to Arkansas. He started his business in west Little Rock and moved to the River Market neighborhood six months ago. He said he hadn’t experienced any trouble at either location until Tuesday.

“I’ve seen how it turned out bad, but it turned out good,” Vargas said of the encounter. “I know he’s not a guy that has a lot, but for him to put his life on the line, that means everything.”

Police wrote in a report they had not been able to contact Brett, and a phone number listed in the report was not in service.

According to the report, bike patrol officers who responded to the scene did not find the suspect in an initial search of the area.

Vargas said he felt confident police will catch the suspect.

“I’m sure they’re going to have him on camera,” Vargas said. “There’s just too many cameras downtown.”