Craig Cope: Norco Robbery, No Charges, and His Death

Craig Cope was the 80-year-old owner of the Norco Market & Liquor in Norco, California, who shot an armed robber with a shotgun during an attempted holdup in the early hours of July 31, 2022. Surveillance video of the robber fleeing while yelling “He shot my arm off!” went viral, and Cope was never charged, as the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department found he acted in self-defense. He died five months later, on December 27, 2022, after a heart attack and then a stroke. All four suspects were later convicted and sent to state prison.

What Happened at Norco Market & Liquor

At about 2:45 a.m. on July 31, 2022, four masked men pulled up to the store on Sixth Street in a BMW SUV that had been stolen from Las Vegas. One of them, 23-year-old Rasheed DaShawn Lee Belvin, walked in carrying what deputies described as an assault weapon while another man held the door. Cope, alone on the overnight shift, pulled a shotgun from behind the counter and fired once.¹

Belvin ran out screaming that his arm had been shot off. It hadn’t, but he was seriously wounded. The four drove to Placentia-Linda Hospital, where staff called the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department. Deputies found the other three waiting outside in the stolen BMW and recovered multiple stolen firearms from the vehicle.²

Who Craig Cope Was

James Craig Cope was born on March 29, 1942.³ He grew up in Illinois hunting squirrel, quail, and rabbit to help feed his family, and he never served in the military or in law enforcement.⁴ He first bought Norco Market & Liquor in 1976, sold it at some point, and repurchased it around 2014.⁵ For nearly five decades he worked the overnight shift himself.

He was blunt about the shooting afterward. “It was either him or me, and I was a little bit faster,” he told an interviewer. “I would always protect my employees, my customers, myself. This instance, fortunately, I was here by myself, so I only had to worry about that. I took care of it and that was that.”⁶

Why Cope Was Not Charged

After reviewing the store’s surveillance footage, the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department concluded Cope had fired in self-defense.⁶ No charges were filed or considered. Under California’s general self-defense law, deadly force is permitted when a person reasonably believes they face imminent death or great bodily injury. The state’s Castle Doctrine, in Penal Code Section 198.5, creates a presumption of reasonable fear when someone uses deadly force against an intruder, but by its text that presumption applies to residences rather than businesses.⁷ In Cope’s situation an armed man had pointed a weapon at him in the middle of the night, and the sheriff’s review ended the matter there.

His Death Five Months Later

Cope had a heart attack shortly after the confrontation, which store manager Marnie Tapia attributed to the stress of the incident. He recovered and was back on his night shift by August 2022.⁵ On October 18, 2022, he suffered a stroke, and his health continued to decline in the weeks that followed. He died on the morning of December 27, 2022, at 80.⁸ The Riverside County District Attorney’s Office confirmed his death would not affect the pending prosecution of the four suspects.

What Happened to the Four Robbers

All four were charged in Riverside County Superior Court with conspiracy to commit robbery, attempted robbery, and assault with a deadly weapon, among other counts, and each was held on $500,000 bail.⁹

On September 20, 2023, three of them pleaded guilty before Judge Gary Polk. Davon Anthony Broadus, 25, of Inglewood; Justin Kyle Johnson, 23, of Inglewood; and Jamar Elijah Williams, 27, of Las Vegas, each admitted to six felonies: conspiracy to commit robbery, attempted robbery, carrying a loaded stolen firearm, possession of an assault weapon, and two counts of receiving stolen property. Charges of assault with an assault weapon and cruelty to an elder were dropped as part of the pleas. Judge Polk sentenced each to five years, with credit for more than 400 days already served, doubled by law, leaving roughly three years to go.¹⁰

Belvin, the man Cope shot, drew the longest sentence. He pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit robbery, attempted robbery, assault with a machine gun or assault weapon, cruelty to an elder, carrying a loaded stolen firearm, illegal possession of an assault weapon, and two counts of receiving stolen property. On October 31, 2023, Judge Polk sentenced him to 10 years and four months in state prison, with eight years of that coming from the assault charge alone. He had faced up to 27 years.¹

The Riverside County District Attorney’s Office called the sentence too lenient. Spokeswoman Brooke Beare cited the sophistication of the robbery, the use of an assault weapon, and the heart attack the 80-year-old victim had suffered afterward.¹¹

How Norco Reacted

The surveillance clip drew national coverage, driven largely by Belvin’s cry as he stumbled out. In Norco, a city of about 27,000 sometimes called “Horsetown, USA,” Cope became a local hero. Resident Christy Dunn produced T-shirts and sweatshirts reading “Don’t Mess With Norco — We’ll Shoot Your Arm Off,” and the sales raised $5,061, which was given to Cope to help with medical costs. Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco called Cope’s actions “very commendable,” bought one of the shirts, and posted a photo of himself wearing it on Instagram.⁴ Cope’s wife told a reporter that would-be criminals should “stay out of Norco, because everybody in Norco has a gun.”¹²

In some of his last public comments, Cope used the attention to press for tougher crime policies and told viewers to “vote and vote the right way.”¹²

1
Press Enterprise. Norco Robber Who Shouted ‘He Shot My Arm Off’ Gets 10 Years in Prison
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ABC7. Craig Cope, Norco Liquor Store Owner Who Shot Robber in Viral Video
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Arlington Mortuary. James Craig Cope
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San Bernardino Sun. In Norco, Store Owner Who Shot Suspected Armed Robber Is Celebrated
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CBS News Los Angeles. Craig Cope, Norco Store Owner Famous for Shooting Would-Be Robber, Dead at 80
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NBC Los Angeles. Man Shot by Norco Store Owner in Attempted Robbery Is Denied House Arrest Request
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California Legislative Information. Penal Code Section 198.5
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East Bay Times. Norco Market Owner Craig Cope, Who Shot Would-Be Robber, Dies After Stroke
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Riverside County District Attorney’s Office. Fourth Defendant in Norco Robbery Attempt Makes His First Court Appearance
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Mercury News. Three Men Who Robbed Norco Liquor Store Plead Guilty
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Mercury News. Norco Robber Who Shouted ‘He Shot My Arm Off’ Gets 10 Years in Prison
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CBS News Los Angeles. Exclusive: 80-Year-Old Norco Store Owner Who Shot Armed Robber Speaks Out