An Arizona thief thought he had pulled off a jewelry heist, but a group of vigilant bystanders thwarted the robbery and pinned the robber to the ground until police arrived to arrest the perp.
Around 11:40 a.m. on Friday, a man dressed in a suit walked into the Marina Jewelers store in Scottsdale. The man allegedly snatched a tray of high-dollar jewelry from the jewelry store, and then attempted to flee the crime scene.
However, two plucky patrons thwarted the thief’s jewelry heist.
The Scottsdale Police Department identified the suspect as 53-year-old Troy Bell.
“On his way out the door, he encountered two brave men who were entering the jewelers and tried to stop him,” police said Saturday in a press release, according to the Daily Independent. “The three reportedly got into a fight which ultimately resulted in Bell being detained by the two men, and some other helpers.”
An onlooker captured video of the heroic bystanders chasing and eventually pinning the alleged robber to the ground. Within minutes, police arrived and arrested the alleged thief.
Bell was arrested and charged with shoplifting, assault, and failure to provide a truthful name.
Bell reportedly dropped and damaged some of the jewelry. All of the jewelry, which is said to be worth thousands of dollars, was recovered.
One of the brave men who thwarted the robbery, only identified as “Mark,” was entering the jewelry store with his wife when the robbery happened.
Mark told KSAZ-TV, “We were here for her birthday, and we were here at the shop shopping, and the gentleman ran out with a whole tray of jewelry, and we tackled him and waited for the police to show up. Screaming ‘just catch him! He just robbed the jewelry store!’ So we just grabbed him, held him down, and the police were here within three to four minutes.”
“First day after our two-month vacation – and we had everything in the safe – and today was the day we had everything laid on the table. Look at the chances,” said Serg Karageuzian – co-owner of Marina Jewelry. “We were replacing the stuff, and everything was on the showcases.”
Marina Jewelry co-owner Anna Marina Solakian said of the heroic customers, “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.”
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