Starbucks worker stopped an armed robbery after being pistol-whipped — weeks later, he was fired for fighting back

On a Sunday afternoon in December 2023, Michael Harris, a Starbucks employee, was working in the drive-thru in the famous flying saucer building in St. Louis. The coffeehouse was busy as usual, and he was delivering orders through the window when, all of a sudden, two masked men walked in. It didn’t take long for Harris to realize the two intruders had entered Starbucks for a robbery. However, refusing to bow down to the burglars, he and his coworker fought the intruders, but as a disgraceful reward for their duty, they both were fired by their company. Almost two years later, on June 18, Fox 2 St. Louis has obtained exclusive access to the surveillance footage of that day, and Harris is now fighting back for his lost job.

Caught on camera

The footage shows one of the robbers sneaking behind the cash counter and shoving a female employee down to the ground. A customer outside can be seen reversing his car after noticing something uncanny inside the Starbucks. Recounting that moment, Harris told the outlet that he was “scared but also calm.” He believed that with the right strategy, he could push the criminals out of the store. But then, one of the robbers demanded money and hit him with a gun. At that point, his vision went blank, and it seemed like a “life-or-death situation."

Bluff backfires

Meanwhile, another worker, named Devin Jones-Ransom, hit the robber and realized that the gun was fake. The employee regained confidence and jumped right at the muggers to fight them. Later, the police identified the two robbers as Joshua Noe and Marquis Porter-Doyle. While Marquis succeeded in fleeing the café, Noe was caught by Harris and Ransom, according to NBC affiliate KSDK. By the time he was arrested, Noe’s face was slathered in blood, bruises, and scrapes.

The price of bravery

A few weeks later, Harris got a call telling him that he was being fired for deviating from the policies of the world’s largest coffee chain. “I was surprised. I was distraught. I was confused,” he shared with the New York Post. Fast forward to 2024 summer, Harris hired an attorney named Ryan Krupp to sue the café. In conversation with The Independent, Krupp asserted that “My clients did the right thing and they were wrongfully punished.”

When the outlet reached out to Starbucks, spokesperson Jaci Anderson said the company was “deeply disturbed by this frightening incident and are grateful that our partners and customers were not more seriously injured at the time.” In a statement, she said, “While we recognize how intense and unpredictable these moments can be, adherence to these protocols is essential to help protect both partners and customers.”

Training vs. instinct

In a survey, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention investigated 571 employees in 382 robbery cases and observed that 95% of the robberies involve two or more robbers, as seen in the Starbucks case. The survey indicated that 9% of robberies were carried out with firearms, while 20 to 30% were carried out with knives and other weapons. Meanwhile, the report found that 85% of the employees were trained in robbery prevention. While it's unknown if Harris was trained in robbery prevention, he definitely showed remarkable composure under pressure.

'Shame on you, Starbucks'

Meanwhile, reacting to the bizarre case, @ThaCrossTV commented, “No comment from Starbucks? Shocker!” @GFbdD-y2g asked, “Was he supposed to ask the robber to hit him again? Starbucks would rather have a dead employee than a dead robber.” @FaithfulGardnerDNP declared, “I will not be going to Starbucks at all anymore. Shame on you Starbucks.”

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