The Marine veteran who stopped an armed robbery at a convenience store in Yuma, Arizona, during the early hours of Oct. 20 wants people to know that despite his service record, he\u2019s not some kind of vigilante.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
James Kilcer told Coffee or Die magazine<\/a> that he\u2019s \u201cpogue as fuck\u201d and not a \u201cfreakin\u2019 Ricky Recon\u201d hero.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The incident, however, certainly offers proof that the Marine Corps Martial Arts Program has real-world applications, even outside of service.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cShit needed to be done,\u201d he added. \u201cI kind of saw what was coming my way and just, you know, I wasn\u2019t gonna sit around and cry about it. And I just waited until he took that one extra step and \u2014 boom! <\/i>\u2014 fucking hit him and just instinct kicked in.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n After footage of him grabbing a would-be thief\u2019s pistol in the attempted armed robbery went viral, news outlets and social media accounts began hailing his efforts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The 14-year-old suspect that Kilcer disarmed was caught, but two accomplices who entered the store with him are still at large.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe suspect was booked into the county Juvenile Justice Center on charges of armed robbery and aggravated assault,\u201d according to AP News<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Kilcer served in the Corps from July 2007 to August 2011, according to his military service record provided to Task & Purpose<\/a>. While serving, Kilcer worked as a tactical air operations technician. He deployed to Afghanistan from March to October 2010.<\/p>\n\n\n\n He now works as a civilian employee at Army Yuma Proving Ground, AP News reported.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt was definitely not what I was expecting, but you always have to be ready for that kind of stuff,\u201d Kilcer told the Yuma Sun<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n