Armed jewelry store worker sends would-be thieves running, stumbling in fear

A 73-year-old jewelry shop worker in California sent a group of suspected would-be smash-and-grab robbers running when he pointed his firearm at them as they rushed into the store. 

“I was preparing for this type of situation by looking around at what’s going on here in [the] Bay Area, San Francisco. My neighbors, my colleagues get robbed,” Estates Consignments employee Albert Marcu told “Jesse Watters Primetime” last week. The shop is located in Pleasant Hill, which is about 30 miles east of San Francisco.

Surveillance footage from the consignment shop from last Monday shows Marcu grabbing his handgun and pointing it at a group of men running toward the store’s glass cases. One of the men appeared to be wielding a sledgehammer while bum-rushing the establishment.

Smash-and-grab robberies have erupted in recent years in California, where suspects rush into high-end stores with weapons such as bats and sledgehammers to quickly break glass cases to steal the expensive merchandise inside.

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Marcu told local media that a woman was spotted walking around the store before the men entered, and he believes she was scoping the place out while talking to the suspects on the phone. Surveillance footage from the entrance of the store shows the woman leaving while appearing to try to prevent the security guard from closing the door as the male suspects run in. 

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Marcu is seen in the footage walking toward the jewelry display cases after a coworker screams, according to KTVU. He then pulled out his .38 caliber and pointed it at the suspects. 

“I showed them my gun, and I told them to stop it, I have a gun,” the 73-year-old told KTVU of the incident. 

“They (ran) because they saw my gun and, you know, I was serious about it,” Marcu added. “They panicked, and they run out.”

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The suspects were seen quickly turning around after realizing Marcu had a gun and stumbled over themselves to exit the store. 

“I love what I do. And I wanted to protect my work and my coworkers and put a statement out there,” Marcu said on Fox News last week. 

Police quickly responded to the scene, but the suspected would-be thieves took off before any arrests could be made or anyone questioned. 

“If they threaten my life or the life of my employees, I’lll use the gun, 100%,” Marcu told KTVU. 

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Fox News Digital reached out to the police department Sunday for any updates on the case.