JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- A 77-year-old woman on Thursday received an award and a standing ovation from the Jacksonville police for helping them catch an accused serial robber with her quick thinking and pepper spray.

Gladys Gehrig was in a Kangaroo Express convenience store on Baymeadows Road in January when she was confronted by a man who pointed a gun at the clerk and her and demanded money.

"It was instinct," Gehrig said. "I think, 'I gotta do something.' Nothing else."

Gehrig said she sprayed the man in the face with pepper spray she's carried on her keychain for years but never used.

"I wasn't thinking about me. I was thinking of (the clerk) and if she had a family, and that's what I was thinking of," Gehrig said.

The man police later identified as Torre Harris stumbled out of the store. He was captured a short time later by police after he robbed another Kangaroo Express store.

Harris, 20, remains in jail charged with 11 counts of armed robbery, one count of aggravated assault, purse snatching and two counts of drug possession.

Gehrig admits her split-second decision could have been the wrong one.

"After you think about it, you realize what my son said: 'You were being stupid,'" Gehrig said.

Sheriff John Rutherford does not encourage citizens to try to stop criminals, but at the annual JSO awards ceremony, said Gehrig's actions helped police put a man they believe had robbed several stores behind bars.

"After his arrest, Harris was arrested for robbing 10 businesses in zones 2 and 3," Rutherford said. "And this is why he's now in jail."

Gehrig said she still carries pepper spray, just in case.

Rutherford presented Gehrig with a certificate of appreciation.

In other honors, community affairs Officer Kendall Anderson was named officer of the month, Officer Mark Sanborn was named corrections officer of the month, Katherine Troyer was named the department’s civilian of the month, Russell Engel was named volunteer of the month, Sgt. J. C. Ladue was named supervisor of the month and James Holderfield was named civilian supervisor of the month.