An attempted jewelry heist in Scottsdale, Arizona was effectively thwarted by a group of vigilant bystanders last week.
A man dressed in a suit entered the Marina Jewelers store late Friday morning and grabbed a tray of high-value jewelry.
However, two brave men, who were shopping at the store separately, intervened and prevented the robber from escaping.
According to the Scottsdale Police Department, a fight broke out between the suspect and the two men as they were entering the store and he was attempting to flee, leading to the apprehension of the 53-year-old perpetrator, identified as Troy Bell.
In a video footage taken by witnesses, the everyday heroes were seen chasing Bell down and subduing him on the ground.
Police arrived on the scene a few minutes later and took the alleged thief into custody.
Bell now faces charges that include shoplifting, assault, and providing false identification to law enforcement.
Although some of the jewelry dropped by the suspect was damaged during the altercation, the entire collection, valued at thousands of dollars, was successfully recovered.
One of the crime stoppers, referred to simply as “Mark,” was celebrating his wife’s birthday when they witnessed the attempted theft.
Mark said he heard someone screaming “just catch him! He just robbed the jewelry store,” so he did just that, and held Bell down until police arrived in less than five minutes.
Serg Karageuzian, who works at the store, said it was their first day back from a two-month long vacation and they were placing jewelry items into showcases from the safe when Bell snatched a tray.
“They saved my product, saved the neighborhood, and I want to thank everybody that sacrificed themselves to help a neighbor or stranger that they didn’t know,” owner Anna Marina Solakian expressed in gratitude.
Meanwhile, another would be jewelry store robber got a beat down by a family of retailers, during an attempted smash and grab in California.
The suspect entered the store wearing a Donald Trump Halloween mask and immediately began smashing display cases with a hammer.
When the family of employees attempted to intervene, he attacked them with pepper spray.
But the would-be-thief was no match for the angry owners, who gave the man estimated to be 6’1″ and nearly 300 pounds, the beating of his lifetime.
In a video captured during the robbery, two employees hit and kicked the man, while another repeatedly hit him with a stick.
They were able to whoop the almost robber so much, that he lost his shirt as he fled from the store and down the street.
The man eventually got away, and despite winning the battle to save their product, the family is scared that he’ll return to the store.
“We’re angry and we’re also worried because when he left he turned to my brother and said he was gonna kill all of us,” one of the owners told KNBC.
