Jewelry store hit for more than $200,000 in smash-and-grab robbery
By KCAL/KCBS Staff
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MONTCLAIR, California (KCAL/KCBS) — Authorities are searching for a group of suspects involved in a smash-and-grab robbery that took place in Montclair last week.
Ed Haro, the owner of Anthony & Co. Jewelers, located at the Montclair Place shopping mall on N. Montclair Plaza Lane, said that the suspects entered the store and began smashing his display cases – armed with hammers and different tools.
Surveillance footage shows the suspects doing just that, bold enough to commit the crime without wearing masks, just partially concealing their faces with hooded sweatshirts.
He said that the suspects made of with up to $200,000 in stolen merchandise, taking off before police arrived to the scene.
“We’re just trying to make a living,” Haro said, noting that he’s amongst the many Californians experiencing daily safety concerns when they head to work, as robbery rates continue to increase throughout the Southland. “You’re risking the people’s lives, you’re risking your own.”
The footage also shows Haro’s employee, Griselda Martinez, fighting back as she contacted police.
“I like to fight back, so you know, I started throwing what I could while I was waiting for 911 to respond,” she said. She can be seen throwing a calculator and other objects at the robbers as she holds the phone to her ear.
Cellphone video shows the suspect, wearing a gray hoodie, pickup the calculator and hurl it back – striking Haro in the face. “It hit me but I’m still alive,” he joked.
He’s fed up with the trend, and hopeful that people can start to mature and see the error in their ways before it’s too late.
“Wake up! There’s no easy way out, we all gotta work for a living. You gotta figure ways to make money? That’s fine, but not that way,” he said, hoping this instance haunts the robbers whenever they decide to grow up. “Maybe later on you’ll get married, have a wife. You think you’ll be proud of that? No.”
It was not immediately clear if police had made any arrests in connection to the robbery.
The incident is one of many to have hit the Southland in recent months, and the second in just a few days after robbers were said to have hit a separate jewelry store in West Covina on Friday.
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