Columbus police: Mother hid 3 robbery suspects after gunfight at pawnshop

The mother of one of three accused in the pawn shop armed robbery where a gunfight broke out hid the gunmen in her home during a standoff, according to testimony Friday in Recorder’s Court.

Veronica Ellan Pigler, 59, was charged with one count each of obstruction and giving false information to police in connection with Wednesday’s incident at her 23rd Avenue home.

The men who took cover in her home after the gunfight at the Village Pawn Shop were identified as 23-year-old Jamal Head, 20-year-old Marquis Johnson and 21-year-old Quantavius Pigler.

Columbus police were called to the pawn Shop at 937 Fort Benning Road around 11 a.m. Wednesday to investigate the armed robbery.

Detective Brad Hall said Pigler and Johnson entered the business armed with a handgun and rifle. They robbed the store and headed out the door with cash.

An employee pulled out a gun and began shooting at the suspects as they were leaving. A gunfight between the employee and suspects followed. More than 50 shots were fired, with the suspects allegedly firing about 30 of those rounds.

Hall said the men left in a black Toyota Rav4 that was waiting in the parking lot. Head was behind the wheel, according to police.

An officer who wasn’t dressed in uniform stopped the men in the 200 block of 23rd Avenue. The suspects allegedly hid in the home of Quantavius Pigler’s mother, leading to a standoff with officers from various divisions of the police department outside of the home.

Detective Brad Hall said they knocked on the door and demanded entrance. Veronica Pigler, the robbery suspect’s mother, answered the front door but wouldn’t allow law enforcement inside.

She said she was the only one in the house and told them to leave her yard. She also said the Rav 4 in her yard had been there all morning, Hall testified.

Hall said he saw all three suspects leave the residence through the back door, and he commanded them to stop. He said two of them fled into the woods, but Pigler complied.

All were taken into custody on the scene, including Veronica Pigler.

This story was originally published July 14, 2017 at 1:55 PM with the headline "Columbus police: Mother hid 3 robbery suspects after gunfight at pawnshop."