Liquor Store Owner Takes a Shot at Fleeing Robber

By Adam McCoy and Jim Price

A Brookfield man who robbed a Wauwatosa liquor store last Thursday with a lighter shaped like a pistol was one-upped when the store owner pulled out his own real pistol and fired. 

Now the robbery suspect, Douglas Ekbom, 28, faces up to 40 years in prison after being charged with one felony count of armed robbery with threat of force. 

The owner told police a man walked into his liquor store, Tosa Wine and Spirits at 11747 W. North Ave., and told him to open the register, according to the criminal complaint.

The owner asked if he was serious, and he responded by pulling out a small pistol.

"I was helping a customer out, and then this dude walked in," the owner, who asked that his name not be used, told Wauwatosa Patch on Wednesday. "He asked me to open the register, and of course he had a pistol in his hand. So I did."

The owner opened the register and backed up as Ekbom grabbed cash and began to walk out. Ekbom was in the vestibule when the owner yelled, "You forgot something," and pulled out his own handgun.

"As he was leaving, he was still pointing the gun at me," the owner said. "I reached for my gun, and when he saw the gun in my hand he pointed his right at me – and that's when I fired a shot."

By that time, Ekbom was out the main door and heading west in a hurry. The store owner intended to shoot Ekbom right through his own plate glass window – but the expense of new glass, and possibly Ekbom's life, was spared. The shot never left the store, hitting the inside brick wall about an inch from the window.

The store owner saw Ekbom run to a Ford Taurus, and he and a witness were able to write down the license plate. 

Police said the store owner later identified Ekbom as the man who robbed him.

Investigators say Ekbom is from Minnesota, but currently living in the Milwaukee area and homeless, although he gave a Brookfield address. Police learned that Ekbom's father was on his way to Milwaukee from Minnesota to help Ekbom get alcohol and drug treatment. Police took Ekbom into custody when the two met at a Starbucks.

Ekbom admitted to robbing the liquor store and said he has been homeless and living out of his car for the past few weeks, according to the court documents. He said he used a lighter that looked like a small pistol to hold up the store and spent the stolen cash on gas, food and alcohol.

Ekbom is due in court for a preliminary hearing on July 3. He is currently being held in the Milwaukee County Jail.