Woman Runs Off Robber With Cast Iron Pan

An elderly woman, armed with a cast iron frying pan, thwarted a would-be robber Saturday after he pushed his way into her home in Nathalie. The Gazette-Virginian reports 19 year old Benjamin Charles Desmond is suspected of that incident and has already been charged with another after an investigation revealed an earlier victim had been confronted by a suspect fitting the same description on Dec. 22. Desmond faces attempted robbery and two felony charges of kidnapping stemming from that incident. Desmond, reportedly shot the male victim in the arm with a pellet gun during the confrontation. Additional charges are pending against Desmond in the Saturday incident.