Schitara Page is not just a security guard. She's also an army trained expert marksman.
But her decision to shoot out the tires of a man who just stole from her store, and punched her, instantly turned into a criminal as far as the Contra Costa County District Attorney was concerned.
"It's a lose-lose situation because you're losing if you try to do your job, but the store is losing when you don't do your job," Page said.
Page was at the losing end when she tried to confront two robbery suspects who had helped themselves to groceries at the store she was guarding and walked out the door without paying.
"They tried to bold push past me," she said.
Page said one man punched her in the face. When she followed them to the parking lot to get their license number, she said she feared for her life as they drove toward her.
Page said she used her weapons and fired three rounds into the tire. But instead of arresting the suspects, police arrested Page.
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"Before you know it I had handcuffs on my hands," she said. "I was booked in process. I went to jail."
A jury last week acquitted Page in just 40 minutes.
Page believes her arrest was about more than just firing a gun.
"If I was a white male, I don't think I would have gone to jail that night," she said. "I honestly don't believe I would have."
The DA's Office issued a statement saying they believe Page appeared to have used a disproportionate use of when "she fired a gun three times at an occupied vehicle over disputed lemons and crab meat."
Not so, said Page, who is now gearing up for law school.
"No, I didn't pull the trigger over crab meat. I pulled the trigger because I was punched in the face and then I felt the car was going to run me over and I did not have another choice," Page said.
