Deaf Couple Turns Tables On Alleged Robber

From: NBC 10.com - Philadelphia,PA,USA - Nov 17, 2004

Woman Beats Attacker With Husband's Cane

PHILADELPHIA -- A would-be robber thought an elderly deaf couple would be easy marks as they walked to their north Philadelphia home, but he was wrong.

Sarah Gary, 61, told NBC 10 News that she felt 21 years younger after fending off alleged robber Shawn Savage with her husband's walking cane.

Monday night, Gary and her husband, Henry Battle had just passed Elser and Broad streets when Savage, 32, allegedly came up from behind them and tried to strong arm Battle, 63.

Gary and her husband are both deaf and Battle is also blind. But Savage never stood a chance against the feisty senior, as Gary explained through her daughter and interpreter Karen Battle.

"So, she don't see a gun, whatever's gonna happen is gonna happen, and she was like, 'Let me get this cane from my (husband)' and just went on and attacked him. She watches a lot of action movies. She watches a lot of television. She is glued to the television," Karen Battle said.

After that, Gary said through Battle, Savage tried to run off, but the self-described "tough cookie" started chasing him.

"The cops actually wound up pulling up. And so, she said, she wasn't able to communicate to the cop what was going on. She tried to gesture to the cop that (this was the) man (who) just tried attacking me," Battle said.

Savage, who has a long criminal history, is facing a laundry list of charges including robbery and assault.

By the way, none of this would have happened if the couple had waited for their daughter to pick them up from a relative's house. But they said they couldn't wait because they needed to get home to watch the Eagles game.

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