Cleveland: Diner duo thwarts would-be robbery

CLEVELAND -- Two friends, two cups of coffee and the jolt of their lifetime.

That pretty much sums up the early morning John Kaminski and Jim Valentine had on Saturday.

They were finishing their coffee when a man came into the all-night diner on Cleveland's west side and stormed the cash register.

"I was jumping up, already to go after him," Valentine said. "He got out the door quick."

Just as quickly, the duo, both in their sixties, tackled the man, not knowing he was armed. He got away. They tackled him again, this time for good.

All the while, Valentine was rolling on their catch with his cell phone camera.

"It looked like a picture that should be taken," he said. The man admitted to being high on crack and had $100 in his hands when they handed him over to police.

"I think he thought maybe we were the police," Kaminski said. "I was screaming to him to get down, stay down, you're under arrest."

"I can't imagine anyone doing anything else differently. It was instinct. I would do it again. I can't imagine not doing that."

To see their cell phone video, click on the video at the right side of the page.