Sherae Honeycutt

PADUCAH, KY (KFVS) – Original Post

A man was rewarded on Friday, July 14 for his effort to fend off an alleged robber.

Regions Bank in Paducah, Kentucky gave Jason Sesock a $500 reward and a customized skateboard.

In June, Sesock stopped a robbery in its tracks when he came to the rescue using his skateboard.

Despite the recognition, Sesock said he was just in the right place at the right time.

“I appreciate the recognition but I still, the divine timing of it all, deserves more recognition and to be acknowledged more often,” he said.

A Tennessee man was charged with robbery in connection to the incident on Friday, June 30.

A 20-year-old woman was making a deposit at Regions Bank, located at 2921 Broadway, at around 10:30 p.m.

“At first I was just kind of awestruck, like, what am I seeing?” said Jason Sesock, 26, who stumbled on the attempted robbery.

“It seemed laughable at first,” Sesock said.

He said a man jumped out of the bushes with a plastic bag on his head.

“Then he started running at the lady who was parked getting ready to make a deposit,” Sesock said.

Paducah police reported the man threatened her with a piece of rebar, demanded her money and tried to hit her with the bar.

Sesock said he ran over to help.

The two fell to the ground and began struggling when Sesock, ran over from the sidewalk and hit the man with his skateboard.

“I just used my skateboard to hit his hands for him to drop the weapon, and then I pushed him off of her, and pushed him away from her car and then chased him off,” Sesock said.

Sesock hit the man’s arms and the victim grabbed the rebar and hit the suspect in the head, who then ran away

While Sesock knows he helped her out, he said she held her own.

“She handled it really well. He swung at her with a stick of rebar, and she managed to stop him and actually got ahold of it, and hit him with it before he grabbed her and took her to the ground,” Sesock said.

The woman sustained an injury to her wrist and was treated at the scene by Mercy Ambulance personnel.

Sesock was not injured.

Once it was over, Sesock said they were happy to be safe.

“At first we were just like – That was crazy! Like, I can’t believe that happened, and then we laughed about it for a little bit, and then I mean – she was just nothing but gratitude,” Sesock said.

The management of Regions Bank is grateful for Sesock’s actions as well.

“We truly appreciate Jason’s bravery. While we never want someone to feel as though they have to put themselves at risk, Jason saw someone who needed help, and he took quick and decisive action. For that, we are tremendously grateful.”

Sesock said he’s just happy he was walking by.

“I can’t take credit for – I was put here, like I said, by divine timing. The circumstances I still don’t understand, and I don’t think I ever will,” Sesock said.

Russell Zonca, 58, was arrested on July 7 after he was released from the hospital.

According to Paducah Police, Zonca told a detective that he and his wife came to the area about five or six weeks ago to go to the casino in Metropolis. He reportedly said they got into an argument and his wife left him there. He said he’d been living on the street ever since.