Another heartwarming "Robber miscalculates and dies" story

Gian Davis, 30, died after a confrontation with two men law-enforcement sources say he tried to rob.

A Newark man died after a tussle with a former high school wrestler he tried to rob early Saturday, NBC New York has learned.

Yes, please note that a "tussle" is defined by this jourrrrrnalist as a confrontation in which a violent criminal has placed you in a headlock causing you and your friend to fear for your lives so much that you are forced to restrain the criminal to the point that he dies.  Tsk tsk -- a tussle.

Law-enforcement sources told NBC New York that 30-year-old Gian Davis approached two men near Bloomfield Avenue at about 1:15 a.m. and asked for change. 

When the men said "no," he then asked to borrow a cell phone, grabbed it and tried to run off with it, sources said.

One of the men lunged to get the phone back and Davis put him in a headlock, according to sources. 

Then, law-enforcement sources say the other man, a former high school wrestler, pulled Davis off his friend and put the would-be robber in a headlock. 

I sure hope the victim said "I reckon not" as he grabbed the jackass robber.

It was strong enough that Davis apparently choked to death, sources familiar with the investigation said.

Listen, it wasn't "strong enough" that he choked to death, it was strong enough that he couldna breathe.  Get it?  And no, no way should the victim have let him loose "just a bit" so he could get his breath. You do that and you risk your life with crapstains like that.

A source said the two men called police and then stayed on the scene until authorities arrived. Davis was pronounced dead at the hospital.

A medical examiner will determine the cause of death. Tom Fennelly, Chief Assistant Essex County Prosecutor, would only confirm that an investigation is ongoing. 

No charges have been filed against the former wrestler or his friend. Their names have not been released. Fennelly said they are cooperating with the investigation.

Davis had prior arrests for aggravated assault and theft. He was released from his last stint in jail on July 22.  

What?  He had priors?  Robbing and stealing and inflicting himself on others -- over and over again?  Why this comes as quite a surprise indeed.  This is certainly most incongruous ... a rarity, even.

Ever since I watched this movie (The Outlaw Josey Wales) a hundred years ago, the phrase "I reckon not" has become a favorite spice in my lexicon.  He says it all throughout the movie and finally, at the end, he says "I reckon so." Anyway, I found a clip of it -- this is toward the end of the movie.  I'd skip ahead to about the 1:15 mark.