Clerk thwarts heist at Lewis Avenue carryout

3/21/2001

A clerk at Lewis Carryout thwarted a robbery yesterday by a masked man with a pellet gun who dropped the weapon before he fled the store, police said.

Juan R. Aldana was behind the counter at the convenience store, 4252 Lewis Ave., when he heard the door buzzer about 12:30 a.m. He turned around and found the man standing behind the counter pointing the gun at him.

The man turned his head for a second, and Mr. Aldana hit him several times on the left side of his head.

The man cursed at Mr. Aldana and started to struggle with him.

The man dropped the gun during the struggle, police said.