Grocery store manager shoots getaway driver helping accused shoplifters, TN cops say

A manager confronted shoplifting suspects outside a grocery store and ended up shooting the accused getaway driver, Tennessee police said.

Robby Wooten and Dustin Fultz both face charges of aggravated assault and theft under $1,000, Shelby County records show. Wooten, 33, is also accused of being a felon in possession of a firearm, and Fultz, 22, also faces a robbery charge.

McClatchy News reached out to Fultz’s attorney for comment Jan. 13 but did not immediately receive a response. A warrant was issued for Wooten, who is receiving medical treatment, Memphis police said in a Jan. 13 Facebook post.

Fultz and two 17-year-olds entered the grocery store, loaded up a cart with food and walked out without paying the morning of Jan. 10, the Memphis Police Department said.

The manager told police he followed them out and grabbed the cart as they tried to get into a gray van driven by a man later identified as Wooten, police said in Fultz’s arrest affidavit.

Wooten is accused of getting out of the van with a gun and threatening to kill the manager before firing a shot into the air.

The manager said he fell to the ground because his leg gave out, pulled out his own gun and shot at Wooten, according to police.

Fultz intervened and tried to take the manager’s gun, but the manager fought him off until the suspects drove away in the van, police said. The manager said he recovered a shopping cart with about $200 worth of food, according to the affidavit.

Officers said they received another call reporting a shooting about a mile away and found Wooten with a gunshot wound. He was hospitalized in critical condition, records show.

Wooten was convicted of kidnapping in 2018, police said. The two teens face charges of aggravated assault acting in concert and theft under $1,000, according to the news release.

This story was originally published January 13, 2025 at 2:25 PM with the headline "Grocery store manager shoots getaway driver helping accused shoplifters, TN cops say."