Doug was area manager for 232 grocery supermarkets for Stater Bros. He
started his careet with Statr Brothers supermarkets as a boxboy in 1967 while
he was in high school. Over the years he worked his way up to Director of
Labor Relations at the Company's headquarters in Colton, Calif. The following
article appeared in the local newspaper in 1980 while Douglas was a store
manager. "A 27 year old Pomona grocery store manager used his feather duster as
a simulated weapon to disarm a bandit and recover some $1,000 the bandit had
taken from his store. Pomana police are still shaking their heads over the
feat accomplished by Doulgas Lightfoot, shortly before closing time at Stater
Bros. Market in Pomona. It all began about 7 pm as throngs of shoppers crowded
into the store to stock up for Thanksgiving. But one shopper shopping for a
different brand of groceries waylaid an assistant manager on his way to the
office with a bag of receipts taken from cash registers for deposit in the
store safe. Light said the bandit grabbed the receipts from the assistant
manager at gunpoint, then dashed from the store. Lightfoot was stocking
shelves near the back of the store where he hit the robbery alam, then ran out
of the store looking for the gunman. He did not see anyone nearby and figured
- rightly - that the culprit had run behind the store and into an orange grove.
Lightfoot dashed along the highway peering down rows of citrus trees and
finally spotted a man crouching down as he threaded his way through the
orchard. Lightfoot fell on one knee, drew his trusty feather dusterhandle
forward with his right handcupped into his left in classic television cop
fashion and yelled "FREEZE". "Hit the dirt spead eagle. If you look up, you're
dead", Lightfoot commanded. The suspect obeyed still holding his .22 cal Ruger
pistol in his right hand. "Throw that pistol at least five feet away from
you." Lightfoot shouted. Again the suspect complied. Lightfoot then dashed
up, grabbed the discarded pistol, placed a foot on the suspect's back and held
the pistol to his head until police arrived.