Shooting on the Move

It was a warm morning on Feburary 7, 2009 in New Smyrna Beach Florida. At 10:15, pharmacist Jack Bosker was tending to his store, The Medicine Shoppe, and all was quiet when the dreaded moment came. Without warning, a masked man stormed through the door and down the aisle towards him, throwing a navy backpack over the counter. "Give me the fuckin' Roxie!" the desperate addict demanded incessantly, over and over. The hooded and masked man wore blue gloves and was brandishing a silver pistol over the counter gangster style for emphasis.

Roxicodone, or "Roxy," as it is known among pharmaceutical fiends, is a semi-synthetic opioid. Introduced on the US market in 1939 as a substitute for heroin and morphine, Roxicodone is still prescribed for moderate pain. It is also highly addictive.

Jack Bosker must have known the masked individual was highly unstable, a crazed animal with it's guts throbbing from the absence of it's drug. Jack raised his hands and went down the bottle filled racks behind the counter to retrieve the Roxicodone. The addicted criminal took little notice of Kenneth Smith as he pointed his pistol about. Smith, an unassuming and bespectacled man with a receding hairline and a plaid shirt, was standing at the end of the counter. The criminal waved his gun at Smith in cursory dismissal.

As the pharmacist returned with the white bottle full of the addicts lust, the criminal's attention was riveted on him. Kenneth Smith knew what he must do. Kenneth Smith came around the counter in an arc. As Smith made his move, the criminal tried to track him but it was too late. Kenneth Smith, a retired police captain with the New Smyrna Beach Police Department and a former Volusia County deputy was hired by the pharmacy as a security guard. Smith fired his handgun. Once. Twice. The armed robber, struck in the chest and leg, crumpled to the floor, his pistol clattering at his feet.

Keith Allen Higginbotham, the masked drug addicted threat was under control. A momentary convulsion rippled through his body, and he was still. Higginbotham was pronounced dead at the scene by paramedics only minutes after he strode in the pharmacy. The shooting is still being investigated, but initial findings indicate the homicide will be deemed justified.

The Medicine Shoppe robbery can be seen from two angles i the video below. Between 0:25 and 0:26, Kenneth Smith can be seen drawing his pistol. In fact, it appears he may be chambering a round. Smith chose a time to draw when the criminal's attention was diverted. Then he acknowledged Higginbotham as the criminal's gun was swung towards him, Smith's own gun apparently hidden at his side. When the criminal focused on the returning pharmacist with the Roxicodone, Kenneth Smith had only a split second to make his lethal move before the criminal made one of his own. Choosing his moment, having a reliable gun in his hand, and being able to get quick hits on the move kept Kenneth Smith alive.