An attempted robbery in St. Paul was thwarted when a neighbor with a Taser stepped in to help — and the neighbor says he didn't even have to deploy the weapon.

Inti Martinez-Aleman and his wife, Ofelia Ponce, own Abogados Cafe in St. Paul's Como Park neighborhood. They are both lawyers, both from Honduras, and are both passionate about Latin American coffee.

It was just a few hours after they opened last Wednesday, when the couple said someone came in demanding cash and the register. The owners said he reached out as if going for a firearm.

That's when the robber grabbed the register and ran. Ponce took off down the sidewalk.

"The adrenaline took over me and without thinking, I just ran after him," said Ponce. "I would never recommend anybody to do this. It was an adrenaline rush for me."

Neighbor Bennie Webb lives just a few houses down, and works security at a gas station on Lake Street. Webb said he heard the commotion, jumped in his car and chased after the 19-year-old. He said just showing the Taser did the trick.

"I told him, 'Brother, I don't want to have to Tase you. Just sit down on the curb, relax, and wait til the cops get here,'" said Webb.

A block down from the cafe, Webb and the suspect waited for the cops to arrive. Webb said the suspect even tried to offer him the cash register to let him go, but Webb refused.

Court documents said about $140 had been taken by the suspect, who is now in custody and charged with robbery.

The incident gives new meaning to the concept of neighborhood watch.

"We love this community. We have a community here, we take care of each other, and in the really hardest moments, that was shown," said Ponce.