Married off-duty cop couple foil masked man's robbery attempt in middle of date night

A masked man got more than he bargained for when he attempted to rob a fast-food restaurant and the only two customers eating at the establishment ended up being two married police officers who were on a date night held him at gunpoint until he was arrested.

The incident occurred at a Raising Cain’s Chicken Fingers franchise in Louisville, Kentucky, at approximately 10 p.m. on Feb. 15 when Elizabethtown police officer Nicole McKeown and her husband Detective Chase McKeown were on a date night when the masked man barged in, flashed a gun at the employee who was taking orders and allegedly demanded money.

The alert officers can be seen in surveillance footage noticing what is going on from their seats at the back of the restaurant before splitting up and drawing their weapons as they approached the suspect.

The would-be thief, later identified as Justin Carter according to ABC News’ Louisville affiliate WHAS, then sees the off-duty cops approaching, drops his gun and sprints out of the restaurant.

“They were on a date night when an armed man with a mask attempted to rob the cashier,” the Elizabethtown Police Department (EPD) said in a statement on social media. “Both drew their off-duty weapons and apprehended the suspect. They held him at gunpoint until Louisville Metro Police Department officers arrived.”

According to WHAS, Carter is a convicted felon who had used a weapon stolen from Jeffersontown police and was charged with possession of a handgun by a convicted felon, receiving stolen property and robbery in conjunction with the alleged crime.

“The couple, who met on the job at EPD when he was a patrol officer and she was a dispatcher at the agency, have been married 6 months,” Elizabethtown Police said.

The Associated Press said Carter appeared in court on Feb. 17 and was represented by a public defender. He will next appear in court at a preliminary hearing on Feb. 25.

Said the Louisville Metro Police Department in a social media post: “You never know who’s minding their own business but ready to put in work.”