WSFA 12 News Montgomery, AL |Montgomery man speaks out after robbery attempt

Montgomery man speaks out after robbery attempt

Posted by Cody Holyoke - bio | email

MONTGOMERY, AL (WSFA) -  It's something Mike Grandalski never saw coming.

Back from walking his dog Friday night, the longtime East Montgomery resident found himself--and his Sturbridge Commons apartment--in the middle of a crime scene.

"I heard a knock at the door.  So, being a man, I just assumed it was either my daughter or her daughter or somebody that we knew, so I didn't look out the peephole," Grandalski explained.

When he opened the door, a man in a ski mask approached him.

"It was one of those black hooded ski masks with just the eyes and the mouth cut out, and he was asking for a light for his cigarettes," Grandalski described.

Before he could process what was going on, another man came from behind the corner, "pointing the gun at me, screaming at me, demanding money.  'I want the money. Give it to me now.  I'll cap you right here.'"

After they frisked him and realized he didn't have any money, the two men bolted--but not before smacking Grandalski in the head with a gun.

"I've got one pretty good size knot and a slight laceration.  Then there's another knot where I guess the gun bounced off my skull," he explained.

This situation--and recent robberies around town--have some residents on edge.

"We've had a lady in our neighborhood robbed at gunpoint, and tied up, and they robbed her in her home. Since then, we've put security systems in my house. And lights on the outside," said Kelly Simmons of Montgomery.

Though material possessions can be replaced, the criminals can get away with so much more.

"They took security away from us. And that's what I have a tough time with," Grandalski said.

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