With bullwhip and gun, ‘cowboy’ cuts crime at convenience store
By MALCOLM GARCIA – The Kansas City Star
Date: 01/16/00 22:15

He stands in the parking lot of a convenience store at sunset, smoking a cigarette. As the lot fills with cars, he pulls his cowboy hat down low over his forehead and folds his arms across his chest.

Behind him, the lariat from a poster of the Marlboro man rises above his head. The butt of a Colt .45 pistol sticks out of a worn leather holster around his waist. A bullwhip hangs against his right leg.

Along this stretch of south Kansas City, he’s been called “Cowboy,” “Clint Eastwood,” “Billy the Kid” and “Wyatt Earp.” But the name his grandmother gave him is what has really stuck.

“Ever since I was a kid, she’d say, `You have an image to uphold,’ ” John Wayne Speakman Jr. says in a low, gravely voice.

Uphold it he has. Since he was hired in April as assistant manager of Express Mart at 7007 E. Longview Road, Speakman has been a one-man posse. He’s rid the store’s property of drug dealers, prostitutes and shoplifters, store manager Ji Y Moon said.

“We’re getting more quality customers now,” Moon said. “At first, I thought it would hurt business bringing a gun, but people realize this is a rough area.”

Speakman, who said he has yet to draw his bullwhip or gun on the job, began his crusade against criminals by chance. Last April, he was driving a tow truck when he stopped at Express Mart. He said he watched in disbelief as thieves walked out with five cases of beer. He spoke to the manager and offered his services.

“I’m very community-minded,” Speakman, 40, said. “I live here. I don’t want this happening in our neighborhood.”

Besides, demand for towing had dropped, and he was looking for another line of work.

Speakman built up his personal arsenal gradually. After he busted a youth for stealing, he brought handcuffs to work. When a suspected thief swung his fist at him, Speakman armed himself with Mace.

“The more violent they got with me, the more I brought in,” Speakman said. “I brought in the bullwhip after the Mace. I was carrying it around and a guy asked me if I could use it. I popped it a few times, and people scrambled.”

Speakman didn’t wear his gun until a youth — drinking a beer — came into the store with a pistol tucked into his pants. The next day, Speakman came in armed. It didn’t take long for the police to notice.

“I didn’t know what to think of that gun,” said Officer Larry Weimhold, who patrols the area. “It’s intimidating, I’ll tell you that.

“He’s cut down on crime and calls for service. He does a good job working with us.”

Soon Speakman, who was raised on a farm and had grown up around guns, was drawn into conversations that could have come out of a John Wayne movie. He recalled one man who asked him how fast he was on the draw.

“Fast enough to keep the store from being robbed,” Speakman told him.

It is not illegal to carry a gun in Kansas City if it has been purchased legally, is not concealed and is not readily capable of lethal use, police spokesman Steve Young said.

Although Speakman’s gun is loaded, he still is within the limits of the law because the gun is visible, Young said.

“It’s not the smartest thing in the world,” Young said. “It’s a good way to get hurt.”

A report by the National Association of Convenience Stores, based in Alexandria, Va., found “that the presence of defensive weapons in the environment creates a greater risk of violence.”

“We advise in case of a robbery, to give over the money and be very visible how you’re cooperating with the robber,” said Jeff Lenard, a spokesman for the association.

Speakman, who said he plans to run for Jackson County sheriff this year, won’t back down to anyone. It’s an attitude that can put him at risk, he concedes.

“A man who’s going to do what I do, strap on a gun in a convenience store, should get some training,” he said. “I wouldn’t recommend doing what I had to do to clean up this lot. It’s very dangerous.

“But I don’t worry about it. Worrying’s dangerous. Get to worrying too much, you can’t keep your head clear to keep your eye on things.”

Speakman’s wife, Janet, does worry.

“There’s always a concern,” she said. “But I had the same concerns when he was hooking up a car to the tow truck. There’s always an element of danger to any job. But John’s level-headed and knows what he’s doing.”

Express Mart’s customers have grown accustomed to Speakman.

“He’s real nice, pretty mellow, really. But he kind of freaked me out at first,” said Lee Quick, who lives nearby. “I thought he was from Texas.”

Candace Crowley recalled having felt threatened when Speakman confronted her several months ago because he thought she had not paid for gas.

“We clarified it,” Crowley said. “All in all, he’s a nice guy. If it’s 11 at night, I can come here because I know he’s here with a gun, and I’m not worried.”

Like lawmen of old, Speakman is not sure when he will hang up his gun.

“I could take it off and not worry for a while,” he said, “but word would get around, and the drug dealers would all be back.”

To reach Malcolm Garcia, night crime reporter for The Star, call (816) 234-4328 All content ? 2000 The Kansas City Star